New Haven Magazine January 2008 by Second Wind Media Ltd

JANUARY 2008

www.newhavenmagazine.com

THE MURDER That Won’t Go Away THE OTHER CHAMPS Of Women’s Hoops A New Haven Doctor’s MISSION OF MERCY

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New Haven I January/2008

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10 ONE2ONE Former CuraGen founder and CEO Jonathan Rothberg remains a man on a genetic mission

Steve Blazo

14 Heritage Elvira Duran reveals the improbable history of New Haven’s architectural “phoenix,” Union Station

16 Chill Out! Make the most of winter in New England by getting up off the couch — and out the door

21 The Murder That Won’t Die Nine years ago Yale senior Suzanne Jovin was brutally murdered. Liese Klein reports on the crime that defies a solution

27 Mission Of Mercy A New Haven physician returns to his native Philippines to help those he left behind

30 Down On The Farm New Haven photographer David Ottenstein photo-documents the decline of the family farm in Iowa

34 Hoop Dreams The queens of women’s college basketball this year don’t play in Storrs. Ron Ragozzino reports

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New Haven I January/2008

As if to combat winter claustrophobia, a North Guilford home invites the outdoors in

44 Instyle Brittany Galla reports on women who know a bargain when they see one — in area consignment shops

46 Onstage A year-old Long Wharf Theatre program trains young people for professional careers in the theater. Brooks Appelbaum reports

62 Discovered The first time Joyce Faiola visited a Happiness Club, she started sobbing. Then she got with the program

New Haven Vol. I, No. 4 | January 2008 Publisher Mitchell Young, Editor Michael C. Bingham, Design Manager Larissa Wigglesworth, Design Consultant Richard Rose, Contributing Writers Brooks Appelbaum, Elvira J. Duran, Joyce Faiola, Michael Harvey, Felicia Hunter, Brittany Galla, Susan Israel, Liese Klein, Cindy Marien, Melissa Nicefaro, Tashema Nichols, Ron Ragozzino, Contributing Photographers Steve Blazo Marketing Director Anthony Bonazzo, Specialty Publications Manager Laura Whinfield, Senior Publisher’s Representatives Mary W. Beard, Ronni Rabin, Publisher’s Representatives Cynthia Carlson, Kym Marchell, Diana Martini, Dawn Nesco, BNH Advertising Manager Roberta Harris New Haven is published 12 times annually by Second Wind Media Ltd., which also publishes Business New Haven, with offices at 1221 Chapel St., New Haven, CT 06511. 203-7813480 (voice), 203-781-3482 (fax). Subscriptions $24.95/year, $39.95/two years. Send name, address & zip code with payment. Second Wind Media Ltd. d/b/a New Haven shall not be held liable for failure to publish an advertisement or for typographical errors or errors in publication. For more information e-mail NewHaven@Conntact.com.

january 2008

Steve Blazo

The 2007 Division II national champion Southern Connecticut State University Owls. Here Stephanie Hiriak (No. 10) defends Kaylie Schiavetta.

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n so many ways it is a crime that reflects so many facets of the complex and sometimes problematic relationship between Yale University and New Haven.

On December 4, 1998, Yale senior Suzanne Jovin was stabbed 17 times on a quiet side street near the Hamden town line. No one was ever charged with her murder, but it has lingered prominently in the consciousness of both town and gown in the nine years since the crime. Now, the Jovin slaying is news again after a “dream team” of detectives was assembled in late 2007 to get the case off square one again. Liese Klein (Yale College ’88) reports on the crime, the investigation and why the entire incident remains an open wound in the relationship between city and university.

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He was the rock star of biotech — a local boy who built start-up genomics firm CuraGen to a $5 billion market capitalization. That skyrocket success returned to earth, and Jonathan Rothberg left the company he loved. But now he’s back, seemingly combining careers No. 2, 3 and 4 all at the same time. Mitchell Young has a few-holds-barred conversation with this scientist/businessman/entrepreneur.

CONNECTICUTS SUPERCENTER FOR PILATES

* * * *

As this issue went to press (December 21), the UConn women’s basketball team was undefeated and ranked No. 2 in the nation. The Lady Huskies first stole Connecticut’s heart in 1995 (thank you, Rebecca Lobo) and now, five national championships later, our ardor remains undimmed. But perhaps it should not be unshared. There’s another squad of distaff hoops heroines in Connecticut who likewise can lay claim to being the best in the nation. That would be the Lady Owls of Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, who last March won their school’s first ever national title. But even as reigning queens of Division II basketball, they play in front of a couple hundred instead of many thousands, and any dreams they might harbor of WNBA glory and big-time pro contracts will likely remain just that — dreams. Ron Ragozzino follows the team for New Haven. In the American heartland, the creeping corporate conglomeration of agriculture plus a series of climactic catastrophes have ravaged the family farm that was once the cornerstone of the economic, social and psychological life of the Midwest. For three years New Haven photographer David Ottenstein has traveled to Iowa to photo-document this troubling transformation. Best wishes to you and yours for a healthy, happy and productive 2008. v

— Michael C. Bingham Editor 8

january 2008

INTEL England Ballet, $3,000 for the Opera Theater of Connecticut based in Clinton, and New Haven’s own Hugo Kauder Society received In mid-December the Connecticut Comm$1,000 for its efforts to promote the work of ission on the Arts announced its annual Moravian (now part of the Czech Republic) grants. New Haven’s leading arts groups self-taught composer Hugo Kauder (1888were well-represented — Long Wharf 1972) . According to the Society, Kauder Theatre, the Creative Arts Workshop, “composed 19 string quartets weighing in New Haven Symphony and Neighborhood amidst some 300 other instrumental and Music School all came away with sizable vocal compositions.” In October the group chunks of change. This year’s list also released a CD, Hugo Kauder. String Quartets included funding for some lesser known 1-4 performed by the Euclid Quartet. It can groups, including $4,500 for the New Haven be found on Amazon.com. Chorale, $7,300 for the Orange-based New

For Art’s Sake

Alternative To What? News that might have rocked the New Haven Advocate, the Elm City’s so-called alternative weekly newspaper in years gone by, merited barely a drop of ink as the Chicago-based Tribune Co. unloaded the founding newspaper of the Advocate newspaper chain: the Valley Advocate of western Massachusetts. The only mention as of press time was a terse December 11 statement in the Tribune-owned Hartford Courant announcing the pending sale to Newspapers of New England, a western New England newspaper group

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Former Valley Advocate editor Jonathan Harr, author of A Civil Action was among the many journalists critical of the original sale, and the Advocates were nearly kicked out of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies trade group.

New News on News INTEL reported last month that the Journal Register Co., publisher of the New Haven Register, was facing tough times. The company just signed a new agreement with its banks, reducing its credit line and restricting its use of cash. The good news? A little more breathing room.

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PHOTOGRAPH:

Steve Blazo

Tribune recently sold both the Stamford Advocate (a traditional daily unrelated to the weeklies of the same name) , and Greenwich Time. To make things more confusing, another Advocate chain weekly, the Weekly, circulates in Fairﬁeld County. No word yet if that newspaper, or its New Haven and Hartford siblings will be placed on the block as well.

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That same year a CuraGen subsidiary, 454 Life Sciences, also founded by Rothberg, was published in the prestigious scientiﬁc journal Nature and began to attract recognition for its ability to sequence DNA far more quickly and inexpensively than had been previously possible. With this new afﬁrmation, Rothberg, 44, began a renewed quest to bring even newer bioscience technologies forward. New Haven publisher Mitchell Young interviewed him for One2One.

Steve Blazo

in the new environment, so he left the company in 2005.

PHOTOGRAPHS:

ew Haven native Jonathan Rothberg was founder of CuraGen Corp., a Branford-based biotechnology company that was a pioneer in using genomic information as the basis of developing new drugs. The scientiﬁc breakthrough brought hundreds of millions in investment but the tech meltdown of 2000 and the realization that it would take years and many millions more to yield viable drugs brought the investment to a standstill. CuraGen restructured, cutting hundreds of employees and focusing its attention on the development of a handful of drugs. Rothberg found his vision out of favor

PHOTOGRAPHS:

Steve Blazo

What is the Rothberg Institute?

in cash, an amazing pipeline and with a 66-percent ownership of what is arguably the most valuable genome-sequencing company in the world [454]. It’s owned by Roche now. It’ll do close to $100 million in sales this year [and is] fantastically proﬁtable. CuraGen was an amazing adventure. I learned a lot about science and I learned a lot about people.

The institute was created to allow me to support [research on] childhood diseases, and more specifically tuberous sclerosis. At CuraGen I had been involved with the human genome project and sequencing technologies. Contemporary technologies made the cost of developing a typical drug maybe $800 million. The drugs I was involved in making at CuraGen were for My question is really which of your major diseases like cancer and diabetes. personas makes things happen — the No one was going to spend that effort on businessperson or the scientist? childhood diseases or what’s known as an My first love is science, but in each case orphan childhood disease [such as tuberous — CuraGen, 454, [Rothberg’s new companies] sclerosis] to put a finer scale on it. We’ve Raindance, Ion Torrance Systems — the supported people at Harvard, Yale and motivation is a need. I wanted to make Fox Chase, to enable them to understand drugs from the human genome, I wanted tuberous sclerosis, and [fund] further to sequence the genome of my son. My first clinical trials. love is as a scientist, but I end up being an As CEO of CuraGen how much of inventor and a businessman. I have to take you was a scientist vs. how much was my ideas, finance them, turn them into a businessperson — and how good a viable companies, assemble teams. businessperson were you? There is a lot of commercial and personal That’s a great question. When I was in failure in the biotech arena. Why is that, graduate school at Yale, they would tease and how well is it tolerated? me that I was always thinking of the We don’t have all the answers. We have business angle. [Classmates and professors] ideas and we have strategies. If you execute were not surprised when after graduate your strategies and it works, you’re a school I started CuraGen in my basement. visionary. If it fails, you’re a charlatan. CuraGen was the first company that was The genomics companies have promise, set up around the idea we would take the just like the first Internet companies. human genome and turn it into drugs. As Genomics 2.0 would be genomics done a businessperson I guess I was pretty good: with the new tools. Done with genome I raised $600 million, we went from my sequencing and drug-discovery platforms basement to one of the best performing that would be personalized. Instead of stocks on the NASDAQ in 1999. being based on someone else’s genomic I made some money on the stock. sequence, [Genomics 2.0] will be based on yours. Good. We had a $5 billion market cap [following CuraGen’s IPO]. In 1999 I was What exactly do the 454 machines do? the rock star of genomics, and then my son They allow you to read an individual Noah was born and he was rushed to the genome. newborn Intensive Care Unit — he was having problems breathing. The genome Yours, mine? project had cost $2 billion to $3 billion and taken 13 years, [but now] I wanted Anybodys. We did Jim Watson [the coto understand not the human genome discoverer of DNA]. It was the first time but my boy Noah’s genome. I got this idea a single person’s genome was done. It was of sequencing the genome on a chip and done for $1 million, which you can say is a lot [of money]. But it was really the first of created 454 [Life Sciences]. the rest of us. Your interest changed? [The human genome project] wasn’t a My focus moved from doing these drugs. I person; it was 50 people thrown into a bin. left CuraGen with over a third of a billion It was a collaborative effort that took ten-

plus years and two billion bucks. Just as computers went from mainframes to minicomputers, [454] democratized sequencing. Now every continent and every major lab has a 454 sequencing machine. You’re trying to speed up science, but it seems actually to be moving pretty slow. Watson and [Francis] Crick discovered DNA more than 50 years ago, and only now are we stepping on the gas – maybe? But you shouldn’t feel bad. When I created 454, literally the board at CuraGen rejected it. ‘Genome sequencing? What are you talking about? A machine to read genomes? Why would you do that?’ Isn’t that what CuraGen was doing? At CuraGen we were using the public effort, that [multi-] billion-dollar effort and we were focused on mining that data to make drugs. This would use individual genomes to spot a difference. Some people live to age [100] , so we’re doing a project now sequencing one hundred centenarians. We’re asking, ‘Why do some individuals live healthy lives to 100, and some not? There was lots of media attention about the genes of the Neanderthal. What was 454’s role? I called the most famous scientist in the world who worked on ancient DNA: Svante Paabo at the Max Plank institute. I said, ‘Svante, I want to sequence a Tyrannosaurus Rex.’ I was sort of kidding. Then I said, ‘Why don’t we use my new machine to sequence Neanderthal? He said, ‘Jonathan, this is the most valuable DNA in the world. It’s 40,000 years old; it’s the pride of Germany. We can’t just mail it.’ How about FedEx? So he said, ‘How about if I mail you [a prehistoric] cave bear’, which is also 40,000 years old. He sent the DNA, I had the 454 team sequence it and he told me I changed his life. By now the readers are wondering what “sequencing” is? A C G and T are the four letters [representing four chemicals] that are in strings in every one of our cells. There are billions of these ‘letters’ [in each human] — three billion from your mom, three billion from new haven

your dad. It is the ‘computer program’ that determines everything about you from conception to death. Sequencing is reading off those six billion letters. You literally have on a computer screen A C G T. That is the code that determines whether you can go out in the sun, whether you’re going to need Lipitor, whether you’re going to have high pressure. With 454 we also sequenced the [HIV] AIDS genome, which is only 9,000 letters, and it teaches us about AIDS. Why did Paabo say it changed his life? He had given up on the project years ago because there was very little DNA and it

of publications including important work on] AIDS. The biggest thing is, I got a call on my cell phone and it said, ‘Hold for Jim Watson.’ I called my mom. My favorite award was from the Wall Street Journal: There were 750 ﬁnalists in 2005 for what was the most important innovation, and they picked me and 454. I bet more people around here know that you bought Chamard Vineyards than that you sequenced the Neanderthal genome. Someone said, ‘How come you didn’t sequence your own genome? Then you would have been all over Business Week

Everyone knows someone over 100. In the United States there are over 76,000 people over 100. What is really interesting is that there are only 75 people in the world who are over 110. We talked about how expensive drug creation is. So that led to your next company, Raindance? You have the theme. 454 was to get the genetic information cheaper, and Raindance is to use the information to make drugs cheaper. How does it work? My idea for the company is to have a general-purpose machine that would allow any laboratory to quickly do experiments. We’ll be selling the Professional Laboratory System and some day the Personal Laboratory System. Instead of a test tube, we have microscopic drops, 100 of which would ﬁt on the end of a hair. The drops are what we do biology in, chemistry in, molecular biology in. We move those drops like magic around these chips. Next year, after it’s been proven, we’ll be out there selling [the laboratory systems]. Well, if you’re not really out there yet. how come the World Economic Forum cited you again for 2008 and Raindance? Each year they canvass what are the 40 or so new companies around the globe. Last year I was picked for 454; this year for Raindance.

was broken. Ancient DNA gets broken up by the environment and it was in pieces only 100 (‘letters’) long. Max Plank was so excited they funded the project. Svante Paabo was the perfect one to cold call. The Neanderthal project is ‘old’ news but didn’t you sequence the honeybees that have been dying off by the millions? We used 454 to look at samples at honeybee hives that had been dying and ones that weren’t [dying]. It was run with researchers from Columbia. We discovered that the honeybee colonies that collapsed had a sequence from a virus that’s not in the hives that [didn’t die off]. You received recognition from the World Economic Forum for 454 as one of a few dozen leading technologies worldwide in 2007. Recognition from Tony Blair, Kofi Annan — that’s pretty major-league. Considering your ‘row’ with CuraGen’s board over 454, how did it feel? What feels good is that 454 is used to solve real problems. There are [hundreds

january 2008

instead of Jim Watson. I felt it was better to do Jim Watson’s, because while I love molecular biology and how it could change the world, he gave us the basis of heredity. Why did you buy Chamard Vineyards? It turns out I don’t drink, so that can raise some questions. My wife does love wine, and for the last seven years I had been growing vines on my property. I got a call [that Chamard was on the block] and there was a concern the property might be sold and cut up. My wife was away, and I went and agreed to buy it ‘If you sign today.’ I didn’t want to get in a bidding war. The next morning I woke up and said , ‘Wow — did I have a manic break.’

What in science makes you nervous — cloning, for example? That does not make me nervous. I don’t want to do politics, but when someone running for ofﬁce is asked do they believe in evolution and they say no, that makes me nervous. I’ve read the DNA of a Neanderthal, and we’ve all walked into museums and seen dinosaurs that are 65 million years old and visited the Grand Canyon. With all this data there are people who don’t accept it? That makes me nervous. I do have a litmus test for political ofﬁce: You must be rational and have some understanding of evolution.

That’s not a lot of litmus. Here’s my personal hangup: If Van Gogh had There is one thing I will promote: every meds or genetic engineering, he would year we do a walkathon in May/June. One have two ears — but we wouldn’t have other thing I want to promote: There’s a “Sunflowers.” Web site www.longlifegenes.com. If you know anyone over 100, we send them a You’re correct: It is our diversity that has container, they spit into it and we take given us strength. We now look at sicklecell anemia, and at this point in history their genome from it. we should heal that person. At some point I’m sure we have tons of readers over 100. when people were getting infections in

their blood, having one copy of the gene for sickle-cell anemia protected them. Some of these imperfections had a place when we were in development in mankind but they don’t have a place now — so we want to fix those. When your breeding was finished by the age of 25, any genes that affected you afterward were not selected against. Now we would like to have healthy, productive lives at 70, 80 and 90 — so we do care about those genes. You’ve said part of the job of developing companies is choosing the right people. What do you look for? Someone who is bright and is flexible. Where I’ve failed is when I didn’t have flexible enough people, willing to take the information as it comes in and adjust course based on new information. Companies fail when people stop. You also have to have conviction. When genomics was popular you’re a ‘genomics’ company — you just don’t take it out of your name because it’s not (as) popular. Are there enough smart people available? I once wrote about bioscience that it’s not rocket science — it’s a lot harder. You got me into politics again. Are there enough smart people? Yes — in the world. I’ve been very frustrated when setting up companies and I have someone from England or South Africa or Namibia and it takes me years to get the proper paperwork [to get them here]. Let’s let those smart people come here. There might be 10,000 chemists who can do what we want, 10,000 molecular biologists — but only two who know enough biology and the chemistry to do what we want.

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Really — only two in the whole world? Absolutely. I need that person to do the job — and I don’t want to hear, ‘All the visas are used up.’ I don’t imagine someone like that is sitting around with nothing to do. Usually they’re surprised, because my inventions are at the intersection of things and I’m usually doing things they didn’t think were possible or useful. I never tell people the product before they’re hired. The world ﬁnds out when we have a major publication. So, give us a heads-up here. What’s next? I’ll give you a hint. I do care a lot about clean energy technology, and I think there are ways to make things more efﬁcient. v

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Steve Blazo PHOTOGRAPH:

The Phoenix New Haven’s magnificent Union Station is an improbable survivor By Elvira J. Duran

s you ride in the back of the cab, the entrance to Union Station, you gently sneaking glances at your watch, but forcefully hand over a ten-dollar bill biting your lip with anticipation and instruct the driver to keep the change. at every red light, breathing heavily, You plunge out of the cab and through muttering “Come on, come on” under your the double doors, momentarily consider breath, you close your eyes and imagine stopping to purchase a Metro-North yourself rushing through those sliding ticket at the automated ticket machine doors right before they shut tight and the (tickets are more expensive onboard the train jolts itself into motion. Opening your train) , but look at the big schedule board eyes, you see the police station on your and see that you have only three minutes right and the white globe lamps outside to make it to platform 12. As you run past the parking garage on your left — only a the ﬁnely polished, wrap-around wooden few blocks left to go. You look down once benches, you think how nice it would have more at your watch: Just seven minutes been to have arrived at the station earlier until departure — you can make it if the and purchased a snack at one of the shops cab driver hurries it up. — a Subway sandwich, a slice of Sbarro pizza or a yummy Dunkin Donuts mufﬁn. As the cab pulls up to one set of doors at Perhaps you could have relaxed on one of 14

january 2008

the benches and people-watched. Maybe next time. You rush to the escalator, but decide to take the adjacent stairs, because the people riding the escalator will slow you down. You race through the tunnel reach the stairwell leading up to platform 12, and rush up the stairs, focusing on the NH on one of the tiles on the walls. You can see the silver and red of the Metro North train you need to catch through the row of windows lining the top of the stairwell. Almost there. As you reach the top step, the train whistles and its doors close. It begins to move south and you don’t even bother to push the glass door leading onto the platform open. You resign yourself to waiting for the next train and head back to the waiting area. Sound familiar at all? The next time you miss the train or simply ﬁnd yourself with time to spare while at New Haven’s Union Station, entertain yourself, loved ones or random strangers with the knowledge that comes from

having someone else do research for you: For the architect in us all: The present-day Union Station is something of a phoenix. It rose out of the rumble of a devastating fire to become a beaux-arts station designed by Cass Gilbert in 1917. The grandiose public building enjoyed many years of use, but suffered neglect when railroads all across America fell into decline after World War II with automobile-fueled suburban flight. The station became so rundown and damaged that it had to be closed down completely in the early 1950s. Had it not been for the Northeast Corridor Improvement Project, the station would have been demolished. Instead, in 1979, the station was slated to be renovated. The New Haven architectural firm of Herbert S. Newman & Partners collaborated with Skidmore, Owings & Merrill to restore the once-glorious station to the vision Gilbert had sketched. Consistent with that vision, the firms opted to build a canopy for the main entrance and install elevators and escalators that previously had not been there, but were part of Gilbert’s master plan. They also cleaned and restored the water-damaged ceilings — which will amaze you with their golden flowers if

escape

you look up — giant windows, the interior limestone walls, the chandeliers, clocks, ticket windows and shop fronts. The vision was updated by the ﬁrms’ installation of new wooden benches (replicas of the originals) , removal of ofﬁces on the balconies (to allow natural light to shine through), the addition of new skylights and stainless-steel ceilings in the once dark tunnel passageways leading to the train platforms and construction of a connected commuter parking garage. The renovation restored order, dignity and harmony to Gilbert’s vision.

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Raymond Cox, former ConnDOT assistant rail administrator, was sentenced to serve two months in prison and pay a $3,000 ﬁne for his role in the renovation project fraud. Cox was responsible for administering the New Haven renovation and admitted that between June 2003 and May 2004 he directed Testa in the illicit activities he committed related to the project.

For the movie buff: If you can’t find the time to stop and appreciate the exquisite design and craftsmanship of the station in For the detective in us all: According to the person, then use your DVD player. Like its Office of the Inspector General, on October gorgeous city-center counterpart, Union 16, 2006, Woodbridge contractor Louis F. Station has also graced the silver screen. Testa pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court Indiana Jones may have zoomed down to committing fraud in a Union Station Chapel Street, but Indian pop icons Rani renovation project scheme. Testa’s company, Mukerji and Preity Zinta strutted around Merritt Builders, was awarded a $300,000 New Haven’s transportation hub in famed contract in 2003 by the state’s Department director Karan Johar’s hit 2006 Bollywood of Transportation (ConnDOT) to renovate film about infidelity, Kabhi Alvida Naa the station that year. It was later discovered Kehna (Never Say Goodbye) , whose North that ConnDOT officials had urged Testa American opening weekend grossed more to pay a contractor thousands to prepare than any previous Hindi film. Perhaps such fraudulent bids for the project. Testa also an opening weekend was due to railroad handed out large “gifts” to ConnDOT station enthusiasts being excited about employees in the form of cash or state-of- seeing the interior shots of Union Station. the-art electronics, with the understanding Just a thought. v

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n these cold, dark days of the New Year, New Haveners can easily be stereotyped into one of two groups. There are those who say that winter sucks, plain and simple. There’s nothing appealing about the cold to these people. Warm weather is for getting out of doors, and that’ll be here soon enough. They’re already counting down the days.

And then there are the ones who glare in the face of Old Man Winter and say, “Bring it on.”

By Melissa Nicefaro

This latter group are the people who fear no evil. They are intimidated by no damp or chill. They sneer in the face of a driving sleet. Like Olympic hero Shaun (Flying Tomato) White, they yearn to slip the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God. Or at least to burn a few hundred calories.

january 2008

Musher Ed Hawkins of Cheshire with his team, led by his ‘Alpha male,’ King. For the rest, the view never changes.

Snow Much Fun If you feel the daredevil in you ﬁghting to burst free, don’t quell it. Head to the Woodbury Ski Area and let loose. You can ski downhill or cross-country, go snow tubing, snow boarding or skateboard.

Exerting yourself in the dead of winter can be as tolling on the body as it is in the most sweltering days of summer. Dehydration is equally common in the winter as in “We were one of the ﬁrst to allow snowboarding in the country,” says owner warmer months. Rod Taylor with pride. Snowboarding was The shop also offers a winter repair class, born from snow surﬁng, which used a which is help indoors (hear that, non-winter board with a rope attached. The sport was people?) . Feiner recommends putting looked down upon by skiers because the fenders over bike tires in the winter time boards left ridges in the snow. to protect the bike itself from sand and salt “I took a chance and allowed big jumps and kicking up from the road. The only time rides are cancelled is when half-pipes at a time when nobody even there is ice on the roads and when weather “Fenders aren’t for you; they’re for your knew what those were,” Taylor says. “My is just plain nasty. Feiner’s crew is brave bike and your buddy riding behind you,” insurance was canceled, but I knew this and intrepid, but they’re not suicidal. says Feiner. “The road salts are corrosive, was going to be a big sport.” “You just need to dress in a lot of layers with so keep your bike clean in the winter.

new haven

Steve Blazo

Winter is a perfect time for a group of locals to hop on their bike-sicles (think Popsicle) for a trail ride each Tuesday evening along the Farmington Canal rail-turned-trail line. The group leaves the Devil’s Gear at 433 Chapel Street in New Haven at 5:30 p.m. The moderately paced ride lasts about two hours. Helmets and lights are a must, and according to shop owner Matthew Feiner, this year-round ride is a great way to build or maintain your conditioning and get tips and advice from other riders during the winter months.

a good base layer and an outer shell,” he says. “For your feet, wear an insulated sock, footwear and a booty over your footwear.” (Not that kind of booty.)

PHOTOGRAPHS:

Frozen Bike Riding

that is a main concern. It may sound simple, but next we work on cutting a straight line with a chainsaw. It sounds easy, but when you’re plunging through inches of ice, it’s hard to keep a straight line and keep the saw from punching back.” His main tool is a chainsaw (how cool is that?!) , which creates the threedimensional look to the sculpture. Chisels and a die grinder — much like a Dremel rotary grinder — and an angle sander are also employed. Covitz travels to Alaska and Norway each year and created the world’s ﬁrst fully functional ice guitar for Norway’s Full Moon Festival in February. “After the festival, I set it on ﬁre,” recalls Covitz. He still loves the festivals, but has given up competing for a casual career in ice sculpting. For a holiday party last month, Covitz sculpted two eight-foot bars, columns, martini glasses, four life-sized nudes (yes, nudes) made of 20,000 pounds of ice for a Greenwich party. How much does something like that run? “About the same as a nice used car,” quips Covitz. His sculptures start at $325. The sculptures that are made for occasions, such as weddings, corporate functions, holiday parties and bar/bat mitzvahs are typically designed to last only as long as the function. Then they melt, slowly disappearing before the eyes of the beholder.

Ice sculptor Bill Covitz of Ice Matters crafting one of his ephemeral masterpieces.

In 1982, Taylor built the first skate park in carpet to the east side of the facility, or the the region. In his younger years, Taylor 184-foot-long carpet to the west. was on the U.S. Olympic Ski Team and “It’s just like at the airport, the ‘people competed in the first freestyle competition. mover’ that takes you from one area to the Woodbury was one of the first ski areas also other,” explains Taylor. to allow sledding and snow tubing. Today it has the largest snow tubing park in the state. There are eight different courses with four lifts. Bill Covitz graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1990 and along the “The family tubes are wild because you can way of working in restaurants and through have six people going down the hill, over catering weddings and parties, he fell in these big bumps. We definitely give you a love with ice. Yes, ice. Now he runs his challenge,” Taylor says. own business, Ice Matters (203-271-3736), in This season, Woodbury opened two new Cheshire, offering carving instruction and Magic Carpet Lifts to service the beginner demonstrations. areas. You can choose the 400-foot-long “I teach safety first,” says Covitz. “Of course

In the Ice of the Beholder

january 2008

“That’s what pictures are for,” says Covitz. “And that’s what ice is for. You get a customized, personalized item for your function. It’s meant to melt away. We take it, we make it and then it goes back to where it came from.”

Third Stone from the Sun A different sort of Ice Capades has taken the winter ice scene by storm. Curling gained popularity across America after the Olympics welcomed the sport to the World Games in 1998. In the 2006 competition, the U.S. men’s curling team made history when it claimed its ﬁrst-ever Olympic medal in the sport, a bronze, with an 8-6 victory over Great Britain. The game of curling involves members of the team shooting (sliding) 42-pound polished granite stones down a 146-footlong sheet of ice helped by the sweeping of teammates to melt the ice and control the distance and direction of the stone.

Closest stones to the target score points. The typical game consists of eight ends (innings). Tournaments are called bonspiels. “Curling is easy to learn but difﬁcult to master,” explains Ann Karrik of the Nutmeg Curling Club. “You can easily go out and have a good time, but to be really good and make your shot every time takes a lot of practice.” Like most anything else. “It is great winter exercise because it requires strength and can be a good cardiovascular workout,” she adds. Curling is done not on skates, but in special shoes that look like walking sneakers — with one big difference. The shoes have one rubber sole on the dominant foot and a Teﬂon sole on the non-dominant foot. Whee!

of drilling and picking through ice, only to land in a splash in the icy waters come at this mention, don’t fret. According to Justin Wiggins, ﬁshery biologist for the DEP, it takes seconds. “The ice does need to be at least four inches thick.”

rope (just in case) , a lot of warm clothes and of course bait. Shiners are good bait when using tip-ups, since they move around a lot on their own in the water. Jigging fishers use flashy lures tipped with a meal worm. Active fish in the cold-weather months include yellow perch, pan fish, bass, pike (found in only a handful of Nutmeg State lakes) and pickerel.

As far as a rod, a tip-up or jigging rod will do. The tip up pole sits in the water and when the fish takes the bait and the flag goes up, you get your fish. The jigging “This is one of the best activities families can pole is about two-feet long and works by get out and do in the winter. We encourage dropping the bait into the ice hole and families to spend time with their children shaking the pole up and down. Also, bring

“I wish there was a more natural way to help me conceive.”

The ice is not smooth as ice, it is pebbled, which allows the rock to glide easily. The Nutmeg Curling Club has about 100 members who play at the Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport. The club includes old pros who have been playing for years, as well as more recent converts who have jumped on board recently. “We have a nice mix of new people and a few who have been part of the club for the past 40 years when it started in Darien,” says Karrik. “Those with tons of knowledge are a great resource for the new players.”

May Be Previously Frozen One winter sport has been around for as long as humans have inhabited colder climes. Ice fishing is an exciting yet relaxing event that many families share. If you’ve long yearned to try ice fishing, but didn’t know where to begin, here’s a resource: Connecticut Aquatic Resource Education (CARE) is sponsored by the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Inland Fisheries Division. The group offers family fishing classes yearround, but at this time of year, it is the ice fishing class that is steaming hot.

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Some 250 volunteers statewide are certified to teach ice-fishing classes, and the CARE program provides them with any equipment they need and a guideline of what to teach. The two-hour class focuses on safety, bait and how to fish. It’s a class that prepares adults and children for a new adventure on the ice. The first thing you’ll need is an ice auger to cut through the ice. If visions of hours new haven

serious use six, eight or even more. Hawkins sometimes rises at 3 a.m., grabs his dogs and truck and run before he has to be at work at 7. He also enjoys night runs. “Most people think it’s dark and it’s time to go to sleep, but the forest really comes alive at night,” he says. What a peaceful way to end a day. “If you’re in a state forest with a trail longer than two miles long, chances are you’re going to run into a dog team,” he says.

Your Best Shot If you can’t see beyond your golf swing, no matter what the weather is like outside, there is an interesting wintertime option in Orange. Frozen Ropes has a virtual golf room that will defy even this chilly Northeast weather, where duffers can play virtually any course in the world. The AboutGolf simulator includes fun and challenging courses with 3-D graphics and a tracking system that allows players to track personal progress on their own Web site. The program is based on a military tracking system that is designed to track artillery ﬁre for over 30 miles with a minute margin of error. Players use real balls and real clubs.

It may be on ice, but the curling action is hot and heavy at the Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport.

and get outdoors,” Wiggins says. On January 17 in New Haven, Edgewood Park Ranger Harry Coyle will hosts an ice ﬁshing class from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the park. Call 203-946-8028 to register.

Musher Ed Hawkins of Cheshire says all you need is a dog or dogs, a sled or rig and a passion for the outdoors.

This winter, Frozen Ropes is hosting the ﬁrst indoor golf league in greater New Haven. Teams of two players each will compete weekly in the state-of-theart, brand new and totally private golf simulation room. This technology boasts 99.9 percent accuracy, realistic graphics, and perfect computerized feedback. The ﬁrst winter league begins the week of January 7. Call 203-799-ROPE to sign up. It’s worth a shot.

Rock Festival

“If you wait for the snow, you might not run. You can do what’s called dry-land training where you use a wheeled rig such as a quad “Ice fishing can last an hour or two or all day, that the dogs can pull,” he says. whatever you want!” says Wiggins. “You can fish on any body of water that has ice Alaskan Malamutes are very large, very and fish, unless it’s posted ‘No Fishing.’” strong and often used for dog sledding. Also commonly used are Alaskan and Siberian huskies. Hawkins has 11 dogs: three Alaskan and eight Siberian huskies.

Dogging It

The Connecticut Rock Gym, located in the New Haven Business Center at 91 Shelton Avenue, is a fantastic way to stay in shape and make getting off the couch worthwhile in the frigid temps. Even if you’ve never been higher than the second ﬂoor of your home, indoor rock climbing is a phenomenal sport that’s fun, great exercise, exciting, challenging and very rewarding. The sport challenges your strength, stamina and concentration.

Believe it or not, dog sledding is surprisingly “Alaskan huskies are such powerful dogs popular in Connecticut. And contrary to that you can use one dog and a pair of popular belief, you don’t even need snow skis and go ‘skijoring,’” explains Hawkins. to do it. It should be cold, however. Recreational mushers commonly use two or four dogs, while those who are more

The gym offers beginner, intermediate and advanced climbing classes. Day and monthly passes and annual memberships are available. Visit CTRockGym.com or call 203-404-5166. v

january 2008

By Liese Klein

new haven

Steve Blazo PHOTOGRAPH:

slashed, probably by a right-handed person. No evidence of sexual assault, but an attack so frenzied that New Haven police still posit that Jovin must have known her killer. She had left her wallet at her Park Street apartment, but money was found in her pocket and a bottle of soda and a student magazine were found near her body. Suzanne Jovin was 21 years old on the evening of December 4, 1998, a beloved Yale student notable for her mix of altruism and scholastics. Hours before her death she had helped host a pizza party for mentally disabled adults. Now, nine years later, the State’s Attorney’s ofﬁce has announced a new look at the murder of Suzanne Jovin, the latest in a series of probes that up until now have led nowhere. “We are hopeful that the renewed attention to the Jovin investigation will provide information that can give some comfort to Suzanne’s family and friends,” said Martha Highsmith, Yale’s deputy secretary. The one person named a suspect in the case has gone on with life, and his claims of innocence take on new weight with each passing year. Perhaps only a handful of people still in New Haven in 2008 have ever met Suzanne Jovin or remember her laugh, her generosity, her skill on the piano. Why is her killer still at large? To the thinking of New Haven detectives and Yale administrators in the months immediately following the murder, Suzanne Jovin’s last evening alive likely went something like this:

Phelps Gate on College Street, which connects Old Campus with the upper Green, is the last place Suzanne Jovin was seen alive at just after 9 p.m. on December 4, 1998.

onight you are tired, eager just to get home.

It is an unseasonably warm night; the calendar says December 4, 1998, but it’s about 60 degrees out, even now, just past 9 at night. Earlier today fellow students were throwing Frisbees in T-shirts; tonight you throw on a ﬂeece jacket over jeans to make your way across campus.

You look left as you walk down College Street, the Christmas tree on the Green a nimbus of red and gold sparks in the distance. Trees stretch their bare limbs to the sky, glossy in the light of street lamps. In about two hours, you will die. 22

january 2008

A butchered woman is found clinging to life at 9:58 p.m. She dies in the hospital at 10:26 p.m. Seventeen knife wounds. Last seen on campus at 9:25 p.m. She is discovered about 1.9 miles from where she was last seen. Suzanne Jovin’s passions were the abstractions of political science and community service, but her last minutes were pure mathematics: hours, minutes, seconds. Angles of attack. The visceral calculus of a hunter taking down his prey. She was stabbed in the back, neck and head, the strikes so forceful that the tip of a knife was embedded in her skull. Her throat was

After leaving Phelps Gate, a neo-Gothic vault that links Yale’s Old Campus to the New Haven Green, Jovin was picked up in a car by the Yale lecturer supervising her senior essay. The lecturer, who had taught several classes and had served as the dean of a residential college, may have been shadowing her all evening. They fought bitterly about his lack of feedback on her ﬁnal paper for his class. A complex man with a shadowy past and rumored links to the CIA, the lecturer exploded with rage and stabbed Jovin 17 times. He then dumped her less than a mile from his apartment. The next morning he went jogging with a friend as scheduled. He warned the friend that a woman had been killed in the neighborhood then dropped the subject. The fact is that nine years after Jovin was

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found dying, the lecturer has yet to be arrested or charged with anything relating to her death. Unknown male DNA was found under Jovin’s fingernails Ð it did not match the lecturer’s DNA or that of anyone known to be in her circle of friends. Thanks to the Internet and newspaper databases, the lecturer’s name will be forever linked to the death of Suzanne Jovin. But in the absence of anything approaching hard evidence surfacing in the past nine years, he will not be named in this story. He now lives with his wife and threeyear-old son in the Washington, D.C. Area and works for a private consulting firm, according the Yale Daily News. He responded to questions for this story via e-mail. “For them to really complete the fresh start they need to admit that [the lecturer] should never have been a suspect and officially clear him,” says his attorney, David Grudberg of the New Haven firm Jacobs, Grudberg & Dow.

Prior to Jovin’s death, three student murders had punctuated Yale’s recent history. The shooting of Yale student Gary Stein in a 1974 robbery seemed to foreshadow New Haven’s descent as the city reeled from economic upheaval and the Black Panther trials. The 1977 bludgeoning of Yale student Bonnie Garland at her New York home by her boyfriend, a Yale graduate from the “wrong side of the tracks,” seemed to reﬂect the turmoil of a university adjusting to coeducation and a more diverse student body.

perimeter to improve the area and boost foot traffic. But what if Prince’s murder didn’t change it all, after all? Jovin’s murder — if it was a random act of violence — didn’t fit into the narrative of the “new New Haven.” But a look at Yale police crime statistics for the years around Jovin’s death show that while the area had come a long way, the campus was hardly an oasis of calm. Robberies, assaults and burglaries were all down in 1998 from 1997, but still far from the record low levels of 2000 and beyond. Crime was also very much on the minds of Yale’s student body, according to students at the time and reports in the Yale Daily News. A little more than a month before Jovin’s death, three groups of teens opened fire on each other near the intersection of York and Chapel streets, near the Yale Repertory Theatre.

escort hotline jumped fourfold, he adds. But after the lecturer was named a suspect, student anxiety subsided somewhat. The identiﬁcation of a suspect — even a suspect who was never charged — also seemed to allay the fears of those aspiring to a Yale diploma. Applications for the following year’s freshman class rose ten percent, to a record 13,190. By contrast, in the year after Prince’s death applications rose an anemic 2.4 percent. Administrators attributed the slump directly to the perception that New Haven was a crime-ridden city. “Yale had strong interest in seeing the case solved, avoiding the perception of random act of violence against a student,” says Grudberg, who is pursuing a lawsuit charging that Yale ofﬁcials were complicit in leaking the lecturer’s name to the press. The focus on a killer known to Jovin skewed the probe from the beginning, Grudberg says. “It should have been apparent long ago that there were huge mistakes made at he outset of the investigation,” he says.

Repeated vandalism was reported in a campus building a few blocks from Jovin’s “The police were under immense pressure apartment in the months before her to solve the case,” Grudberg adds. “The murder. Thefts, a mugging and car theft publicity arising from a Yale student being prompted the student daily on October 9 to murdered in New Haven was potentially air “renewed concerns that students are not devastating — the idea of it being a completely safe within Yale’s ivy walls.” random attack is even more potentially A few weeks later it was announced that devastating.” New Haven had been named the most crime-ridden city in the state by Connecticut magazine. In a New Haven still reeling from the crack cocaine-fueled violence of the late 1980s and early ‘90s, the idea that Jovin had been killed by someone she knew was somehow a relief, former Yale students say.

A friend of the lecturer’s from childhood, Jeff Mitchell of Westport, has spent hours discussing the case with him and going over the evidence police presented in a four-hour interrogation days after the murder. Mitchell, along with one of the lecturer’s former colleagues at Yale and a retired journalist, has made arguing for his innocence a consuming hobby.

“Tragic events that have an explainable cause are much easier for people to deal with than events that have unexplained causes,” says Blair Golson, who wrote about the Jovin murder for the Yale Daily “Nothing to me made any sense,” Mitchell Fourth-generation Yale man Christian News. “The idea that Suzanne’s killer was says of the scenario posited by police. Prince was gunned down in a robbery a professor and a dean — even though that “How do you follow somebody across the attempt on February 17, 1991, found dying on was horrifying and shocking, at least it campus in a car? How do you know where the steps of St. Mary’s Church on Hillhouse would have given a sense of closure to the they’re going? It seems like such a random Avenue. A teen from Newhallville was incident.” sort of thing.” tried on a conspiracy charge related to the killing and sentenced to nine years in jail. The memory of Prince’s death was still With each new leak to the papers in the relatively fresh at the time of the Jovin months after Jovin’s murder, the case got Yale took immediate action, installing an slaying, Golson adds. more outlandish, Mitchell says. “Everyone’s emergency phone network, hiring more led to believe they know exactly who did it. security and expanding its police force. “I think the sense that New Haven was a You’re led to believe they must have some President Richard C. Levin also established dangerous place at night or in the wrong ace in the hole. They had nothing.” the Ofﬁce of New Haven and State Affairs neighborhood still pervaded the university,” and kicked off a multimillion-dollar effort Golson says. In the initial weeks after Mitchell says he ﬁnds the alleged motive to buy up properties around the university Jovin’s death, calls to the campus late-night the most implausible: that the lecturer Then, in 1991, came “The Murder That Changed It All,” as the Yale Daily News dubbed it ten years later.

january 2008

Liese Kline PHOTOGRAPHS:

A a November 30 press conference formally announcing the creation of an investigative ‘dream team,’ Jovin’s sister Ellen Jovin (left) joined Assistant State’s Attorney James Clark (top right) and ‘Dream Team’ head John Mannion (below).

killed Jovin because she was unhappy with his help on the senior essay. “To think that would lead to murder? That whole theory was ridiculous,” Mitchell says. By focusing on the lecturer, the police missed an opportunity to look into the possibility of a random crime or even a serial killer. Mitchell ﬁnds it telling that Jovin was found on East Rock Road, one of the few streets that lead directly into East Rock Park, which is deserted at night and has seen its share of crime scenes. (A man was found shot to death in the snow near the

park’s entrance on December 15, 2007.) As clues have come out over the years, Mitchell and the lecturer have gone so far as to try to track down stolen cars to generate new leads on the investigation and explore the possibility of a random killer.

The progress of the Jovin investigation can be tracked in the size of headlines in the New Haven Register: A huge banner headline when the lecturer’s name was leaked as a suspect, then steadily diminishing headlines as the case stalled.

“It’s been ten years he’s been trying to solve this — I think he’s done more work to solve this case than the New Haven police,” Mitchell says of the lecturer.

The New Haven police department’s head detective on the case, Capt. Brian Sullivan, was making headlines of his own by 2000, charged with obstructing justice in a 1996 homicide investigation. He retired that year and was cleared of all charges.

Why so much effort on the part of a man who insists he’s innocent? “He wants it solved, that’s it,” Mitchell says. “He truly wants this case solved.”

Sullivan declined to comment on the Jovin case when contacted for this story. Later in 2000, Yale hired two retired New

new haven

York City police detectives to investigate “We do not take that lightly,” team leader One theory that gained new traction after the murder. The pair spent more than John Mannion said of reopening the September 11, 2001 centers on the topic of a year looking into the case before investigation. “It is a noble calling.” the essay Jovin was working on the day she squabbling with Assistant State’s Attorney died: “Osama bin Laden and the Terrorist Jovin’s sister Ellen also spoke, her voice James Clark because they sought tests on Threat to U.S. Security.” Her paper argued breaking as she told of Suzanne’s energy evidence without his approval, according that Bin Laden was a serious threat almost and compassion. to the Hartford Courant. three years before the attacks of 9/11. “Not knowing what happened to Suzanne Clark denies any dispute, but no formal But a Yale senior essay is hardly a doctoral is devastating to our family,” Ellen Jovin report on the NYPD detectives’ probe was dissertation and typically requires little told a scrum of reporters outside the county every made public. in-depth research; many students opt out courthouse. “We grieve for her every day.” of the essay entirely. Jovin was in fact Seemingly at a dead end, New Haven The new investigators meets once a week working on two senior essays in addition State’s Attorney Michael Dearington at most and all of have other jobs, leader to a full course load, leaving little time for turned over all case ﬁles to the state’s Cold John Mannion has said. Six months after in-depth research of any kind. Her Bin Case Unit in September 2006. But state they began their probe, the “dream team” Laden paper was only 21 pages long and investigators appear to have made even had yet to interview or make any contact listed no primary sources, according to the less progress on the case than the NHPD with the lecturer — the only named suspect Yale Daily News. — Jovin’s murder was never even posted on in the case. the Cold Case Unit’s Web site. And even if Jovin had spoken Arabic or The Connecticut State Police are also not had intelligence contacts, there has been Then, last November 30, Clark called a particularly renowned for their homicide- no evidence ever made public that al Qaeda press conference to announce yet another solving skills: With jurisdiction only over operatives have ever been active in New group had taken on the case, this time a roads and towns too small for their own Haven. “dream team” of four retired state police police force, the State Police handles only detectives that had been meeting since The local FBI ofﬁce had no comment on a fraction of the state’s murders, according June. anything to do with past or present terrorist to Department of Public Safety statistics. activity in the Elm City; all “No person is a suspect in the crime, and In the absence of announced progress in everyone is a suspect in the crime,” Clark the case, Internet sleuths have come up said. “No assumptions are made. The idea their own theories about Jovin’s murder. Continued on 61 is to approach the case as if it were new.”

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1064 Chapel St, New Haven

Yale’s Gino Eng (right) in the operating room during his most recent visit to his native Philippines.

s a boy growing up in Manila, the Philippines, Gino Ang enjoyed relatively comfortable surroundings. His family had a tele-vision, a radio and his sister drove a car. He thinks of himself as having been blessed.

He left the Philippines at age 13, attended schools in Europe, arrived in New Haven to study at Southern Connecticut State University and went on to study medicine Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica. While at Ross, Ang trained at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y., where nurse Lory Gasmen invited him on a humanitarian surgical mission to his native country. “I couldn’t go then, but when I became an anesthesiology resident at Yale, I contacted him and joined him.” That ﬁrst mission, in 2001, exposed Ang to a side of life he never experienced ﬁrsthand growing up in Manila. “The

A New Haven doctor mounts a mission of medical mercy to his native Philippines By Susan Israel

people we come to help live in little huts He is in charge of every detail of the trip with no electricity,” he recalls. “I was never — from contacting drug companies to exposed to that kind of poverty.” have medicine, materials and equipment donated, to coordinating with the local He has now. Ang, who lives in Hamden, Filipino government officials and hospitals has gone on the trip every year since and to get temporary medical license approval next month will mark the first time he for the doctors, to finding a sponsor. will have organized the mission himself. new haven

ascertain what the team will need while still in the States so that they’ll have everything they need, in case it’s not available there. And then there are the travel arrangements — Ang must book tickets for every member of the party. “Everyone’s itinerary is something different,” he notes. All this, Ang acknowledges, has made for a “pretty stressful four or ﬁve months.” Once they arrive in the Philippines, Ang and his group will treat goiters, cataracts, hernias and other ailments, correct cleft lips and palates, and perform ear reconstructions, greatly improving the quality of life of their patients. In addition, they will train local surgeons in newer techniques they may not know, such as regional anesthesia techniques and improved ways to remove cataracts. Joining Ang will be six other physicians from Yale, including two other anesthesiologists, as well as a general surgeon, two plastic surgeons, and an ophthalmologist, as well as nurses, including Lory Gasmen, from throughout the United States whom Ang met on earlier missions. Other volunteers who are not medical professionals will also be making the 24 hour ﬂight from New York to help people who otherwise would never be able to get live-changing surgery done.

During the most recent mission in February 2007, the team operated on 69 people in three days. Recalls Ang: “Family members of patients we operated on gave us bananas, saying ‘This is all we can afford to give you,’ even though the surgery was of course free. We take care of patients who can’t afford the surgery at all. “We get a lot of fruit,” he adds. “We try to tell them not to, but they want to do something.” Eng (top, at right) shares a breather with fellow team members. Below, Eng wielded a flashlight so surgery could continue during a power outage last year.

A fundraiser at Anthony’s Ocean View in November raised $12,000. Co-sponsors the Philippine American Association of Connecticut (PAAC) and the Connecticut Association of Philippine Physicians (CAPP) allowed Ang to contact their members to solicit help and donations. Even so, the red tape rolled on and on. “Even though we are on a humanitarian mission, we have to apply to get our licenses 28

january 2008

approved by their [regulatory authorities],” Ang notes. “The Bureau of Food & Drug [BFAD, the Filipino equivalent of the U.S. FDA] has to approve our medications and we have to send samples in advance.” The Provincial Health Ofﬁcer must go to customs when equipment is shipped there to vouch for the fact that it is donated, so the members of the medical humanitarian mission don’t have to pay a duty. Ang must

Next month the team will be operating in Silay City on the island of Negros Occidental for ﬁve days. On days when he’s not in the OR Ang plans to follow up on a feeding program he started last year at the Escalante Elementary School in Escalante City, also on Negros Occidental. First, the children are given pills to rid them of worms. Without that preventive measure, explains Ang, feeding them won’t help. “We feed ﬁrst-graders who are malnourished according to their growth chart. Last year a third of the kids gained enough weight not to be considered malnourished any more,” he says.

Ang has collected data to demonstrate that the children do better in school once their nourishment is improved and they gain weight. He hopes eventually to find the means to benefit not just first-graders but older children as well. “I’m tackling one thing at a time,” he says. His mission has even turned into something of a family crusade. He and his wife converted part of a property they own into a day-care center for 40 preschoolers. His two sons, 17-year-old Algene and eightyear-old Aaron, collected donated sports equipment such as rollerblades, basketballs, baseballs and volleyballs from school and church. “We brought four boxfuls to the kids there,” Ang says. “They have no physical ed program and had no sports equipment. They’d never seen rollerblades.” So Algene strapped some on his feet and went out on the pavement taught the children how to use them. Now teachers there let students sign out equipment. Although Algene, who is finishing his senior year in high school, is not planning to go on next month’s mission, he volunteered with his father at the hospital during last year’s trip and plans to go in 2009, when it coincides with an Ang family reunion.

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“They’re encouraged,” he says. “They come up and talk to us and go out of their way to make us comfortable and see what they can do for us.” Ang still recalls one of his ﬁrst patients — who taught him a life lesson.

When she woke up in the recovery room following her surgery, Ang was afraid she was in pain. But all she wanted was a mirror to see her neck. When she saw the mass was gone, Ang says, “She was crying because she was so happy.” v

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The medical mission is all about changing lives. The ﬁrst day the patients meet with the medical team, Ang explains, they are scared, but when they start to see how the patients do well, their demeanor changes.

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David Ottenstein “In the field” near Atlantic, Iowa.

PHOTOGRAPH : LaVon Eblen. 30 january 2008

he demolition of the Hyperion Theater was the turning point in the work of New Haven photographer David Ottenstein. In 1998 the old downtown concert hall, which in its opulent days had showcased everything from the music of Charles Ives to the Floradora two-act comedy, was collapsing and due to be razed. Architect Richard Turlington asked Ottenstein to record it for posterity.

The roof had crashed through the proscenium arch leaving a spindled web of iron struts. The heavy wedding-cake stucco walls were crumbling onto the seats, exposing raw brick and musty lath, and a threadbare curtain hung torn and limp over a stage where players once sang and danced. Decay and history. Ottenstein loved it. As a boy, Ottenstein’s dream of becoming a photographer was considered preposterous, although it was something that might be supported by a successful career in law. In 1978 Ottenstein came to Yale as an undergraduate to pursue a degree in American studies and photography. Although still convinced he was bound for law school, he took on growing requests from Yale colleagues for sports photographs, portraits of professors or visitors, and became a photojournalist for the Yale Daily News. After graduating the requests kept coming, so he decided to give photography a shot and for many years worked as a commercial photographer. Following the Hyperion Theater project, Ottenstein began looking for other abandoned buildings. With manufacturing in decline throughout the Northeast, old industrial plants with names like Seymour Wire, Mechanicville Hydro and Harmony Mill caught his attention. Attracted at first by their formal beauty, the great sculptured forms of the old machines, their metal surfaces, stillness and weight seemed to translate perfectly into the subtle tones of black-and-white prints. The enormous steel wheels, the cast-iron doughnut-like forms with bolts the size of a fist, and huge serpentine pipes like those in the English Station Electric Power Plant in Fair Haven are a vivid portrait of the age. And the buildings themselves have a cold beauty, stripped of all refinement, their steel girders and iron staircases carry a feel of hard muscular work. In time, in the quiet emptiness of these buildings, Ottenstein began to feel the presence of those workers, the ceaseless motion, the hum of the looms, the heat of the furnace, the whir of the generators and the sweat of human brawn.

‘English Station No. 13,’ from Ottenstein’s series documenting the industrial Northeast.

Like the Hyperion Theater, the Sterling Opera House in Derby offered a lighter side of life, and was in far better shape than its Elm City counterpart. It is easy to visualize eager crowds filling the rows of seats. One image shows the wall beneath the stage where decades of performers, following theatrical tradition, had pasted up their posters: The Queens of Ballet, the Washborne Sisters and a Mr. C.A. Sampson (short haired but heavily moustached) who would obviously astound his audience with feats of physical strength. Ottenstein records these images with a four-by-five-inch film camera on a tripod, which gives him an extraordinary depth of detail. He then scans his negatives into digital format, which allows him to draw information into a print that is simply not possible by the old darkroom method. The final prints, usually 16 by 20 inches, are

outputted on an Epsom 4000 ink jet printer, which uses a full color spectrum to create richer shades of black. Ottenstein says they will last as long as a silver gelatin print. A meticulous man, standing in his spotless studio, Ottenstein is the personification of the craftsman in complete command of his resources. He seems utterly at ease with all the technical calibrations and gadgets in his well-organized equipment bags. In 2004, after reading an article in the New York Times on American agriculture, Ottenstein decided to go to Iowa to see for himself. What he found was a parallel story to the demise of manufacturing in the Northeast. The difficulties of competing giant agriculture conglomerates, plus several seasons of difficult climates, was driving many small farmers out of business. Family farms, homes, barns and silos had been abandoned, left to

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nature, or demolished before illegal methamphetamine labs could move in and set up business. The traditional image of the American Heartland based on movies, Garrison Keillor or Grant Wood was rapidly changing. With the help of a friend, Laura Turlington, he made contact with the Center for Prairie Studies at Grinnell College and through the school was able to get a grant. His mission was to document the changing face of the state as big-box stores and suburban sprawl began to kill off small towns and destroy family businesses. For each of the last three years he has traveled there photographing a passing lifestyle, and the destruction of a landscape which has already lost vast quantities of its fertile loess soil due to environmentally insensitive farming.

‘Sterling Opera No. 3’ (top) with ‘Overgrown Farmhouse’ from Ottenstein’s Iowa series.

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The first startling quality of the Iowa images — even as it is, in a way, the most predictable — is the vastness of the land and the eternity of the sky. It is as if the confines of the photograph’s frame cannot contain it. If the palpable emptiness and desolation of the Northeast photographs is inside those buildings, here it is outside. The silence and absence of human presence is unnerving. It is a quieter, more patient existence competing with the relentless whims of nature rather than cold steel — but no less hard. The images, even the indoor ones, depict a simpler uncluttered place. There are no yards with pickup trucks on cinder blocks, or refrigerators dumped in streams. The frugal lifestyle of the farmers has made it easier for their abandoned homes to be reclaimed by nature. It is the new developments that are the eyesore. Two side-by-side images of graffiti — one in the Northeast, the other in Iowa — tell a different story. In “Masonic Mo. 2” the graffiti is large and loud on a harsh industrial scene. In “Motor Mill” it is discreet, modest, drawn in the dust — and predestined to disappear in the wind. The Yale Beineke Rare Book & Manuscript Library’s Western American Collection

‘Schoolhouse at Wade Farm No. 2’ from Ottenstein’s Iowa series.

has committed to buying 300 of these Iowa prints over three years. This April Ottenstein will exhibit a selection of Iowa

prints at the Exposure Gallery, 1 Whitney Avenue, New Haven. The photographs are also available online at DavidOttenstein.com.

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Steve Blazo PHOTOGRAPHS:

hey are the champions.

In their realm of women’s college basketball, they are the monarchs of all they survey — at least until someone takes it away from them.

They play in Connecticut, the epicenter of women’s college basketball in America. But few of them were recruited nationally in high school. They play their home games not in front of 15,000 worshipful fans, but in front of a couple hundred friends and family. Fame and riches and professional basketball careers do not await them. That’s because the defending national champions of women’s

january 2008

college basketball are not the UConn Lady Huskies, but the Owls of Southern Connecticut State University, 2007 NCAA Division II champs. Last March 24, the Southern women claimed their school’s ﬁrst national title with a 61-45 victory over previously undefeated Florida Gulf Coast in Kearney, Neb., a win that capped a 34-2 season. Just one month later the team’s popular coach, Joe Frager, was lured away to take the head job at Division I Fairﬁeld. This season the team, which graduated just one senior from the championship squad, looks to defend its title. At press time the Owls were 9-2 on season (6-2 in their Northeast 10 Conference) and ranked No. 10 nationally in Division II.

Steve Blazo

PHOTOGRAPHS:

For Kate Lynch, a senior forward from Rumford, R.I. and the team’s top scorer in every game to date this season (24.9 PPG), winning the national championship was, literally, a dream come true.

a celebration and parade when we got back, more people knew me,” says Lynch. “It’s a nice feeling. When I go back home to my local town, people recognize me.”

“You dream about it,” says Lynch. “To see all the hard work and how it paid off in the end. Basketball makes a part of who I am.” “As time goes on you just look back and reﬂect on it [the national championship],” says Michelle Martinik, a senior guard from Monroe. “I love to play basketball. I can’t imagine life without it.” “It’s hard to put into words,” said Kaylie Schiavetta, also a senior guard from Northport, N.Y. “It’s always there and I can always say I played for a national championship team.” Another player who arrived at SCSU just in time is Sarah Houseknecht, a 6-2 forward/ center from Olean, N.Y. who was only a freshman when the team won the title.

Seventy miles north in bucolic Storrs, a different narrative is being written. The script is familiar: It shouts at readers from the pages of the Hartford Courant and virtually every other newspaper in Connecticut almost daily from November to April each year. If the SCSU women are improbable Queens for a Day, the Lady Huskies are imperious Queens for a Decade (1995 to 2004) in which they won ﬁve Division I titles. Led by their acid (though amusing) head coach, Geno

(I Am Not a ‘State Employee’) Auriemma, whose million-dollar-plus salary dwarfs Burke Brown’s, the UConn women are used to the star treatment. Because, well, they are stars. The Lady Huskies’ star shines so bright it obscures virtually every other women’s college program in the state and region — including Southern’s. The UConn players are recruited nationally and very publicly. The roster is dotted with McDonald’s AllAmericans who have been groomed for elite status since middle school or even earlier. Lady Huskies. Lady Owls. Their paths intersected just once. On November 6, UConn hosted Southern in a preseason game at the Hartford Civic Center. SCSU was vaporized, 119-58. “Obviously, we could not match up to them, they are a lot more talented,” said Burke Brown after the game. Pitched in Auriemma: “Obviously we were

“It was very exciting being a part of the team,” Houseknecht says. “This off-season I worked even harder to win again.” That’s the goal that is so obvious it doesn’t even need to be said — to win again. And although the last season felt like a giddy, can-you-believe-this-is-happening magiccarpet right, this season is different: On the court the Southern women are all business. Practices are intense with a lot of running due to the philosophy of new head coach Meghan Burke Brown. Frager, her predecessor, favored a more deliberate halfcourt offense featuring set plays and lots of motion. Adapting to the new style of play has been an adjustment. Then there’s the weight of having a title to defend. Lynch and Martinik both agree that they feel as though there’s a bulls eye on the team’s back this season. “I am sure every team has circled us on the schedule,” says Lynch. “Coach [Burke Brown] reminds us every day that teams are gunning for us, so come ready to play,” adds Houseknecht. All the players agree that winning the national championship didn’t change their lives or make them into campus celebrities, exactly, but that afterward they were all recognized more on campus by fellow students, teachers and staff. “After winning the championship and having

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Press acknowledges the players have academic advisors to help them navigate the inevitable scheduling conﬂicts that arise from a schedule loaded with heavy travel nationwide. For road trips less than 300 miles, the Lady Huskies take the team bus to games. For more distant trips the team travels by charter jet, Press adds. But Kevin Meacham, associate managing editor of the Daily Campus, UConn’s student newspaper, paints a different picture. “On a recent trip to the Virgin Islands, players told me the team went out for a stylish dinner ﬁlled with exotic dishes and desserts,” said Meacham. “The school of course paid for all of that. Basically everything and anything that the women’s team needs, the school provides and pays for.” New coach Burke Brown faces the challenge of starting at the top of Division II.

playing a team that was overmatched at every position.”

UConn’s sports information ofﬁce plays down the Lady Huskies’ status.

(Silver Lining Dept.: As of December 21, no opponent of the undefeated Lady Huskies had scored as many points as SCSU’s 58.)

“They get nothing special just because they play for the basketball team,” says Randy Press, UConn’s assistant director of athletic communications. “They are treated like everyone else on campus.”

In Storrs, the Lady Huskies are Big Women on Campus — literally and ﬁguratively. But

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Meacham says the UConn players have individual tutors for their classes if they need them at any time. Also, he notes that UConn holds a housing lottery each year because the demand for on-campus housing outstrips the supply. The result is that many seniors are pushed off campus and forced to live in apartments near (or not so near) campus. The women’s basketball players, all of whom are on full athletic scholarships, are exempt from the lottery.

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All of the Lady Huskies live in the Hilltop housing complex, which Meacham says is one of the nicest areas on campus. It’s also a two-minute walk from Gampel Pavilion, where the team plays most of its home games before 15,000 adoring fans. Meacham says most of the time he sees the women players off the court, they’re dealing with the normal college pressures of homework, projects, tests and friends. “I mean, you might see Mel Thomas and Renee Montgomery in our Student Union eating lunch or getting a bite to eat,” he says. “I have seen Kaili McLaren buying her books at our Co-op. They’re all regular college students.”

Southern because UMass didn’t offer her maybe 200 people in the stands — roommates, major, exercise science. She says she also parents, grandparents, boyfriends. chose Southern because of Frager and she “With football just ending maybe we will knew that Southern had a good women’s get some fans,” said a hopeful Schiavetta basketball program. in early December. “We thrive off of the Houseknecht was all-conference and all- cheerleaders, dance team and parents.” state in high school and was recruited by Even given the current modest attendance, more than two dozen colleges. She chose “There are a lot more fans than a couple Southern strictly on the basis of what she years ago,” notes Martinik. “I don’t care heard from Frager. Houseknecht says she about the amount of people I play in front plays not for glory, but for love of the game. of. I just want to play.” Which is good, because sometimes glory is “We’re not playing for the press and in short supply. While the Lady Huskies attention,” adds Schiavetta. “We’re just pack houses at home and on the road, when the SCSU team takes the ﬂoor in 2,800-seat playing for the school.” v Moore Fieldhouse, they look up and see

“I wouldn’t say that they are idolized on campus,” says Tim Ehrens, another member of the student media covering the Lady Huskies. “I’m not even sure that more than a handful of students even know who they are and even know they play basketball besides the fact that they are all six feet tall or anything as far as appearance goes.”

“I don’t think the UConn women are idolized by our students that much on campus,” adds Press. “I think the high school and middle school students idolize our players more.”

While UConn recruits its players nationally, the Southern coaching staff must be a bit more resourceful to get the players — players maybe a inch or two too short, or a step or two too slow to play Division I. Sharpshooter Lynch, who was allconference and all-state in high school, says she was recruited by many colleges including six or seven Division I schools. But she ultimately chose Southern because she liked Frager so much. An exercise science major, Lynch post-graduation plans include not the WNBA, but grad school. Martinik says she came to Southern because of her major, mathematics — and because she loved Coach Frager. When she was being recruited she says some Division II schools told her that, at 5-5, she was too small to play college basketball. Several Division III schools also recruited her as well as some local Division I schools. Her basketball career likewise will end in March: Schiavetta originally enrolled at Division I UMass/Amherst, but transferred to

SCSU’s top scorer is senior forward Kate Lynch was recruited by Division I schools, but chose Southern because of the now-departed Frager.

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AT HOME

onald Brown has seasonal affect disorder. That means as the days grow shorter and daylight grows dimmer, the Yale economics and mathematics professor experiences mild depression.

Worse, Brown’s wife, Elizabeth, is claustrophobic. So what sort of home do you think they built after purchasing seven hilltop acres in North Guilford a decade ago? If you guessed, “No house,” you would have been wrong. But not far wrong. Instead the Browns, working closely with New Haven architect Paul B. Bailey, designed the next best thing, no structure — a home so ﬁlled with light and space that it seems to have invited the entire outdoors indoors. “One of the things we wanted was the sense that we were outdoors, but we weren’t cold,” Brown jokes. But it’s really no joke. “All of these windows, and even the [glass] doors, were intended to give us this sense of the outside.” Constructed in 1997, the Browns shinglecovered home is nestled comfortably into its bucolic. But the view from the front does not do justice to the actual size of the 3,200-square-foot structure, or give an adequate sense of just how light and open the interior is. The Browns lived for years in Cheshire before moving west when Don Brown got a teaching job at Stanford. Returning to Yale a decade ago, the couple was disappointed to discover that the Cheshire housing market had become too pricy, so they looked elsewhere. What they found was a breathtaking hilltop site in North Guilford about a mile north of Lake Quonnipaug. They purchased the site and decided to build there. The Browns found Bailey through a friend, and what began was a long series of conversations that would result in their unusually open and airy abode.

january 2008

Donald and Betty Brown in their North Guilford home, which has few hallways, fewer walls —no lamps at all.

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PHOTOGRAPHS:

Steve Blazo

Because she insisted on having a formal dining room, Betty Brown changed the kitchen’s original location.

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The Browns “wanted a house in the woods with an open [ﬂoor] plan that ﬁt in well in the wooded environment and took advantage of the views,” recalls Bailey of their initial conversations.

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Because his wife disliked enclosed spaces and he himself was prone to depression in the darkest months of the year, Don Brown told Bailey from the outset that their priorities were spaciousness and light.

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“There was a lot of discussion about where to site the house,” Brown recalls, including “some ideas that I thought were wacky.” About 100 yards south of the structure is a steep precipice; Bailey initially suggested cantilevering the structure at the edge of the precipice. That idea was rejected. “I am very pleased with the site” they eventually agreed upon, Brown says. “It’s so wonderful out here.” Even in winter no other structure is visible even though the house sits atop a hill. “You can’t see anything, and that’s what my wife wanted — complete privacy,” Brown says.

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Because of that privacy, none of the Browns’ 60-something windows has curtains. “That would defeat the whole purpose of the house,” Brown notes. Another peculiarity: Not a single lamp is to be found throughout the home. Illumination is achieved entirely by symmetrical recessed ceiling light ﬁxtures. “I don’t like lamps,” Brown says. “So we decided to just infuse the rooms with [recessed light.” The house was constructed on three levels, but the biggest surprise in found in the basement. Descending via elevator to the bottom story a door opens to reveal a 30foot long, four-foot-deep lap pool. Donald Brown doesn’t swim, but his wife uses the pool for water aerobics to rehab her knees.

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Outside just south of the basement is a sunken outdoor courtyard where Betty Brown gardens in warmer months.

In designing the home, the discussions between Browns and Bailey complicated by the fact that Betty Brown was still living in the couple’s California home. “I was there all the time,” Brown says of Bailey’s Audubon Street office. “He almost gave me a desk.” Still, Bailey recalls that the final design “flowed fairly easily from [the Browns’] thoughts and ideas.”

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The one issue about which the Browns and Bailey disagreed was the location of the kitchen, which Bailey recommended be installed in the westernmost wing of the home. Instead, the Browns decided to devote that space to a formal dining room, where the couple can sit and bathe in the warm light of golden sunsets. Brown also uses the room as an informal ofﬁce space.

space (that in the initial design was two separate rooms) with a state-of-theart home theater. Entering the main house through a welcoming front porch, so acute is the sense of openness that one can see all the way through the home. That sense of space was key to designing the home — the idea that “every room should be connected, that there should be no hallways,” Brown explains.

alone is 25 feet square, Brown notes. The bedroom features built-in bookcases and two distinctive quilts made by Brown’s sister, a master quilter who wove a quilt for Nelson Mandela.

Also atop the curved staircase, which softens the geometry of the downstairs, is a built-in open ofﬁce area used by Betty Brown that overlooks the spectacular great room. Bailey added yet another window to The fully equipped (triangilluminate the staircase The few discrete “rooms” ular) island kitchen instead after Don Brown told him themselves are very large shares a very large open he enjoyed sitting on the — the master bedroom

steps and reading. Just inside the front door is a small built-in bench that invites visitors to take a load off. Indeed, scattered throughout the home are cushioned window seats and benches, spaces that invite “repose and reading,” Brown notes.

colors. When she sees what colors you picked, you’re dead.’” But the very-much-alive Don Brown notes with pride and bit of relief, “She never changed one color.”

The most inviting view of the Browns’ home is one few see —from the rear.

North of the house sits a complementary structure that ﬂowed from the pair’s parenting philosophy

And, of course, windows everywhere, “Teenagers need to be given their own all insulated glass. “We have windows space,” Don Brown says, so for their that have the same R-value as walls, teenage daughter Bailey constructed or just about,” Brown says. “Paul a carriage house-like garage with a [Bailey] really has a taste for very studio loft apartment above it. “It’s a expensive windows,” he laughs. very welcoming space,” Brown says. Their daughter is now grown and “The most difﬁcult thing in the whole long moved away, but Brown says house was choosing the color scheme two architects fell so in love with the inside,” Brown recalls. “Like most 700-square-foot space they ask him to guys, I’m not good at color selection, rent it to them. and my wife was in California. I must have put 26 or more colors on The structure also has a very spacious these walls, and when I found ones western-facing porch, maple ﬂoors, that were decent, I would photograph built-in breakfast alcove and a them and send them to her. cathedral ceiling that mimics those found throughout the main house. A “But she never saw the house until Bailey signature, Brown notes. she came through the door when the house was done,” Brown adds. “We think we got the right guy,” “People said, ‘That’s the end of your Brown says today of Bailey. “He did marriage, because guys can’t pick just a fantastic job.” v

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Steve Blazo

Twenty-seven-year-old Sara Doerner has been finding bargains at thrift shops since she was a teenager.

hen Sara Doerner wants to shop for T-shirts, sweaters or jeans, she doesn’t drive to the mall or some pricy boutique. Instead, she ﬁnds nearly everything she needs at the Salvation Army Super Thrift Store on Dixwell Avenue in Hamden. Doerner, 27, has been shopping at thrift stores since she was 16. So by now she can’t see herself shopping anywhere else.

where a four-year-old made the clothes in a Third World country,” explains Doerner as she balances on her arm a pile of shirts she plans to purchase. Sure, it’s kind of downscale. But.

january 2008

Clara Reid has been a ﬂoor supervisor at the Super Thrift Store for the past two years. She says her store gets plenty of name-brand labels and prices range from $1.99 to $4.99 for clothes; jeans and shirts are $4.99.

Hamden’s thrift store gets 2,500 new deliveries a day, so Doerner makes the trip from Wallingford at least once a week. She also shops at other thrift stores throughout Connecticut and goes to New York City “Every day we have new deliveries and it’s when she’s really jonesing for some serious all organized right away,” she explains. “So vintage buys. every day is a good day to shop here.”

“Politically I don’t agree with sweatshops, and I like the idea that coming here helps others as opposed to going to the mall “This [the Hamden store] is a good one, but and spending ten times as much at a store it’s hit-or-miss at all the stores,” she says. 44

“Sometimes you ﬁnd ten awesome things, and then another day you ﬁnd nothing. But I have fun searching.”

With 11 years of consignment shopping experience, Doerner says she knows the

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deals in the last two years while shopping at the Super Thrift store.

“I’ve learned to never look for sweatpants “I play tennis, and last week I got Adidas here or any other thrift store,” she says with tennis shorts — the tag on it said $50; I paid a laugh. “I’ve tried it, and trust me — just $1.99,” he says, smiling. “You have to search don’t do it. It’s just because they’ve been around, but you can find great things here.” washed 20 times, so they shrink. And even Barbara Ross, a volunteer for four years though the size may say large, they’re not at Saint Raphael’s Consignment Shop on [large], because they’ve shrunk. I just have Chapel Street, has seen and heard of plenty to go the mall when I need sweatpants.” of great buys at area thrift stores. She also knows what day during the week “Just a few months ago, one man bought a to avoid shopping at the Salvation Army: money belt at a Guilford thrift shop and Wednesdays, when it’s Family Day and all when he got home, found nine $100 bills in clothes are 50-percent off. the belt zippers,” she says. “There are some “Avoid Wednesdays!” she exclaims. “It’s too incredible finds out there.” crowded because of the Family Day sale. Ross says she has seen tons of designer It’s a good day because you save, but it’s labels on the racks, including pieces from bad because it’s so crowded.” Jones New York, Talbot Petite and Chico’s. There are three things that Doerner says she Elsie Kyasky, manager of April’s Consignalways looks for and buys at thrift stores: ment Boutique on Whalley Avenue, has vintage T-shirts, sweaters and skirts. seen brands like Ann Taylor, Banana “Jeans are tough, but you really can look for Republic, Ralph Lauren and J. Crew on the everything,” she says, explaining that the store’s racks. Kyasky says more deliveries very grey sweater she is wearing she bought come in during the spring and fall than at a thrift store — when she was 16. other times, so seeing those are probably the best times to shop. She recalled a “It’s amazing,” she says. “You can find five woman buying a Liz Claiborne wool suit a vintage shirts here and pay one dollar.” few months ago for a grand total of $1. And Doerner, a student, doesn’t see her “She was still talking about the purchase love for shopping at thrift stores waning when she walked out the door,” recounts any time soon. Kyaski, a pink Coach bag hanging over her “For me, I have a soft spot for vintage,” she left shoulder (sale price: $45). “It’s amazing what you can get for such a low price.” v says. “I’m bad — I’m addicted.” Gus Miren of Hamden has found great

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Let’s put on a show: Company manager Lisa Antonecchia and directing resident Tyler James at LWT.

Prepping for Success at Long Wharf ’s Next Stage New LWT program helps fledgling theater pros launch careers By Brooks Appelbaum

hat makes Long Wharf Theatre’s Next Stage Resident Program the choice for highly trained and experienced, “early-career professionals”? After all, the program is only in its second year, and these young people have multiple options as they launch their professional theater careers. Lisa Antonecchia, Long Wharf’s company manager and head of the program, offers a few answers. For one thing, Next Stage residency offers exactly that: residency. The program lasts for nine months, and 46

january 2008

Long Wharf gives its ten chosen artists apartments in New Haven so they can easily get to Long Wharf daily. They are also provided with local cable television, phone and Internet service, and $100 in weekly travel money.

and Anna Deavere Smith, who this month brings to the Long Wharf Mainstage the world premiere of her newest one-woman show, Let Me Down Easy. In addition, dramaturge McGerr emphasizes the importance of being so close to the New York City theater scene. And she is particularly impressed by the balance Long Wharf maintains between producing new plays and existing repertoire. Neither, she maintains, can be as rich without the other. Greene, who had two previous high-proﬁle internships, thought the Long Wharf experience would perfectly ﬁt one of his passions, which is to bring people back to the theater.

Of course, for young artists like Artistic/ Directing Resident Tyler James Greene “I was very interested in Long Wharf’s and Artistic Literary Resident Katie commitment to engaging their audiences,” McGerr, the greatest attraction is the he says. “From the Web site I was getting opportunity to work side-by-side with such an understanding that this is a place that high-proﬁle directors and playwrights as is concerned about that particular dialogue Gordon Edelstein, LWT’s artistic director, — which is now a national concern.”

Recalling his initial phone contact with Edelstein, he describes “this beautiful gorgeous day” and Edelstein telling him, “Well, Tyler, you sound like a soldier.” Greene smiles, then laughs with joy at the memory of the moment that brought him here. “And I was, like, ‘All right!’”

neatly with Greene’s passion for attracting new audiences to the theater — was a November 10 “Discovery Day.”

“I want to direct this because it is about the extremes: life and death,” he explains. “For me, theater is about imploding the macroscopic: making the large small In conjunction with LWT’s Education enough so that we can zoom in. The play Department, area families to come to the takes one family’s grief and makes it theater, free of charge, and explore every universal by sharing it with the audience.” aspect of play production. By the end of For Antonecchia, this particular group of the event, 150 people had walked through Playwright Tracz, currently in NYU’s ten artists has from the beginning exhibited the door. “People said that this event will graduate writing program, has agreed to remarkable energy and verve. “Whenever become a Long Wharf tradition,” says treat this production as an opportunity for they see an opportunity in front of them, Antonecchia with pride. new development. Dramaturge McGerr they grab it,” she says, glowing with calmly describes this decision as “a doubleThe residents’ production itself is also admiration and affection. Some examples edged sword.” She says the residents will unusual. Every resident read plays to are individual: she mentions Brian Hoene, grow along with the play, but as the script prepare. Greene, who will direct, read many, the lighting resident, who has made it changes, they will face new challenges. and he also contacted a college friend, Joe a point to speak personally with every Tracz, whose one-act, Phenomenon of Decline, However, challenges don’t daunt this group. lighting professional who has come through had in its initial 2006 incarnation won the In fact, for McGerr, this is the perfect play the theater, asking about that person’s own American College Theatre Festival for for residents at this major regional theater career, and seeking advice about directions Region Three. to undertake. She notes that Long Wharf in which he might take his own. stages many American family dramas, This became one of the three play candidates On a larger scale, the group has done several and that the question to ask is, “What is the residents presented formal production projects to raise money for one of its most important about this particular American proposals for to the Artistic Department, important events. As a team, the Next family drama, and what is the twist?” Public Relations (Will it appeal to our Stage residents will stage a production audiences?) , Production (Are the costs In Phenomenon of Decline, one of many in April for which they are nearly solely realistic?) , and Antonecchia (Does it suit fascinating twists is that there are no responsible. Long Wharf gives them a the schedules of these busy people?). parents in sight. For these early-career small budget, but the group was determined professionals, the play literally and to up the ante. One of their fundraisers — In the end, Phenomenon of Decline was symbolically says: “We’re doing this on suggested by Antonecchia, and dovetailing selected, and Greene is enthusiastic. our own.” v

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ART Daniel Read and the Flowering of Sacred Music in New Haven. An exhibition that commemorates the 250th anniversary of the birth of New Haven composer Daniel Read (17561836). The exhibit showcases early American psalters (including the Bay Psalm Book), as well as manuscripts and printed music by Daniel Read, William Billings and other prominent American tunesmiths. Through January 9 at Beineke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 121 Wall St., New Haven. Open 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs., until 5 p.m. Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. Free. 203-432-2977, library.yale.edu/beinecke/.

in Telling a Larger Story: Collecting Miniatures for a New Century often served as a way to hold onto absent or departed loved ones. Each keepsake is a significant work of art in its own right; together they help us to tell the story of miniature painting in America and the larger tale of the miniature’s unique role in social history. Among the miniatures on display are works of incredible beauty and historical consequence, dating from c. 1760 to 1850. Through January 13 at the Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St., New Haven.

January 16 at Sterling Memorial Library, 120 High St., New Haven. Open 8:30 a.m.-11:45 p.m. weekdays, until 4:45 p.m. Fri., 10 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Sat., noon -11:45 p.m. Sun. Free. 203432-2798, resources.library.yale.edu/ online/smlexhibits.asp. Dick Mooney, Yale Class of 1947, has curated The Eponymous Dozen: Naming Yale’s 12 Residential Colleges, an exhibit telling the fascinating life stories of the ten men for whom Yale’s residential colleges are named: John Davenport, Abraham Pierson, Jonathan Edwards, two

Celebrating Italian Festivals. Exhibition of books produced between 16th and 19th centuries documenting religious, civic and public festivals in towns and provinces of Italy. Through January 9 at Beineke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 121 Wall St., New Haven. Open 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs., 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. Free. 203-432-2977, library.yale. edu/beinecke/. A decade of unprecedented growth in the collections of the Yale University Art Gallery is celebrated in Art for Yale: Collecting for a New Century. The exhibition features 300 objects selected from the nearly 15,700 works acquired since 1998 – the most exuberant period of growth in the museum’s 175-year history. The selection includes works produced by the ancient cultures of Asia and the Mediterranean, masterpieces of African and early American art, Renaissance paintings and sculpture, Impressionist and early modern art, as well as works reflecting recent developments in contemporary art. Highlights include works by Pontormo, Edgar Degas, Thomas Eakins, Gerald Murphy, Stuart Davis and Kurt Schwitters. Through January 13 at the Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St., New Haven. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily except Mon. (until 8 p.m. Thurs.), 1-6 p.m. Sun. Free. 203-432-0600, artgallery.yale.edu. Painted in watercolor on ivory and sometimes framed to be worn as jewelry, the small portraits or tiny scenes of romance or mourning

january 2008

understand the main tenets of African cultures and societies, expressing — and carving in stone, wood and copper — the ideals of beauty, the belief in family and peace, and the relationships between the living and ancestors, a collection of original artworks highlights the strong connection between contemporary artists and their centuries-old native cultures across sub-Saharan Africa. Exhibition includes artwork displayed for the first time in the U.S., including copper paintings from the southeastern province of Katanga in the Democratic Republic of Congo, stunning stone sculptures by the Shona artists of Zimbabwe and masks and paintings by various artists from West and Central Africa. January 5-18 (preview 2-5 p.m. and opening 6-9 p.m. January 5) at Center for the Arts, 40 Railroad Ave., Milford. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.–Fri., 2-5 p.m. Sat. Free. 203-8786647, milfordfac@optonline.net, milfordarts.org. Works by Joseph Adolphe and John Ferry are the focus of Deconstruction and Resurrection. January 23-February 24 (artist reception 5-8 p.m. February 9) at Kehler Liddell Gallery, 873 Whalley Ave., New Haven. Open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Fri.; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. weekends or by appt. Free. 203-3899555, kehlerliddell.com.

Joseph Adolphe’s ‘Easter No. 5’ (oil on canvas, 2007) from Deconstruction and Resurrection at the Kehler Liddell Gallery. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily except Mon. (until 8 p.m. Thurs.), 1-6 p.m. Sun. Free. 203-432-0600, artgallery.yale.edu. This year marks the 250th anniversary of the University Church of Yale, the oldest college church in America. Founded in 1757, the church has often challenged the status quo and as a result has frequently found itself at the center of controversy. The University Church, 1757-2007: Celebrating 250 Years of Service to Yale examines some of University Church’s defining moments, past controversies and influential preachers. Through

Timothy Dwights, Jonathan Trumbull, John C. Calhoun, Bishop George Berkeley, Benjamin Silliman, Ezra Stiles, and Samuel F.B. Morse, as well as revealing how Branford and Saybrook Colleges were named. Through January 17 at Sterling Memorial Library (opp. Starr Main Reference Room), 120 High St., New Haven. Open 8:30 a.m.-11:45 p.m. weekdays, until 4:45 p.m. Fri., 10 a.m.4:45 p.m. Sat., noon -11:45 p.m. Sun. Free. 203-432-2798, resources.library. yale.edu/online/smlexhibits.asp. African Expressions: Culture Through Arts. Meant to help the public

The annual members show of the Arts Council of Greater New Haven’s Photographic Arts Collective, Spectra 2007, features dozens of photographs by a host of regional photographers. Through January 31 at the Arts Council, 70 Audubon St., New Haven. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. Free. 203-772-2788. A Christmas Journey: Nativities from Across Italy. This Knights of Columbus Museum exhibition takes visitors on a “Christmas Journey Around Italy” — right in New Haven. Exhibition includes 17 miniature dioramas from across Italy never before seen in the U.S., renowned for their splendid workmanship and quality. Through February 3 at the Knights of Columbus Museum, 1 State St., New Haven. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. Free. 203-865-0400, museum@kofc.org, www.kofc.org/museum.

New work from the prizewinners of the 2006 national juried exhibition, Particular Places, Robert J. Anderson of Rockport, Mass. and Erin Raedeke of Martinsberg, W.V. will be on view in Robert J. Anderson and Erin Raedeke. January 18-February 8 (reception 5-7 p.m. January 18) at Creative Arts Workshop, 80 Audubon St., New Haven. Open 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 9:00 a.m.-noon Sat. Free. 203-562-4927, creativeartsworkshop.org. AMANDLA! Southern African Liberation Posters from the Collection of Immanuel Wallerstein. An exhibition of posters from across southern Africa collected by Immanuel Wallerstein, worldrenowned expert on post-colonial Africa and globalization, past president of the International Sociological Association and chair of the International Gulbenkian Commission on the Restructuring of the Social Sciences. Through February 15 at Sterling Memorial Library (Memorabilia Room), 120 High St., New Haven. Open 8:30 a.m.-11:45 p.m. weekdays, until 4:45 p.m. Fri., 10 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Sat., noon11:45 p.m. Sun. Free. 203-432-2798, resources.library.yale.edu/online/ smlexhibits.asp.

Revolution & Rebirth: The Christian Art of Huibing He is an exhibition of artwork by Huibing He, a Chinese clergywoman, who incorporates a Western context (the Bible) with an Eastern style (Chinese scrolls). Through February 22 at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, 409 Prospect St., New Haven. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Free. huibingh@ verizon.net, www.yale.edu/ism. The Kehler Liddell Gallery welcomes artists Joseph Adolphe and John Ferry for its February exhibition. Each artist shows a skillful, practiced handling of paint, with the theme of architecture running through both men’s works. January 23-February 24 (reception 5-8 p.m. February 9) at Kehler Liddell Gallery, 873 Whalley Ave., New Haven. Open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed.-Fri., 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat.-Sun. Free. 203-389-9555, www.kehlerliddell. com. The City, an exhibition of paintings by Constance LaPalombara. A landscape and still-life painter, LaPalombara is well known for her city scenes of her New Haven hometown. Her artwork has been the subject of 25 solo shows as well as of numerous group shows, and she was profiled in Cheever Tyler’s 2006 book Artists Next Door: A

John Frederick Lewis’ ‘A Lady Receiving Visitors (The Reception)’, oil on panel, 1873, at Yale Center for British Art. Great City’s Creative Spirit. Through March 5 at the Gallery at the Whitney Humanities Center at Yale, 53 Wall St., New Haven. Open 3-5 p.m. Mon., Wed. or by appointment. Free. 203-4320670, yale.edu/whc. More than 150 crosses and crucifixes, collected from around the world (where they were used in churches

or by individuals) are on loan from the extensive Yvonne Shia Klancko Collection of religious items and displayed for the first time in Crosses and Crucifixes. Through April 6 at Knights of Columbus Museum, 1 State St., New Haven. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. Free. 203-865-0400, museum@kofc.org, www.kofc.org/museum.

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CRITIC’S PICK: Shakin’ It with the Ambassadors In order to pay homage and preserve Peru’s African heritage, Ronald Campos founded a little performance group in 1969. The group has come a long way since then — all the way to New Haven, to be exact. Expect an unforgettable evening of music and dance from the Grammynominated Ambassadors of Black Peruvian Culture, Peru Negro. The group combines the percussive rhythms of West Africa, Cuba and Peru to produce electric, groove-inducing beats. The ensemble performs traditional and original

Exceptional and rarely seen paintings by John Frederick Lewis, Edward Lear, Sir David Wilkie, Richard Dadd, William Holman Hunt, Stanley Spencer, David Bomberg and Lord Frederic Leighton will be on view in The Lure of the East: British Orientalist Painting, 18301925. Yale’s Center for British Art will serve as the premiere and only U.S. venue for this exhibition focusing on encounters between 19th-century British artists and the Islamic worlds to which they traveled. February 7-April 28 (exhibition tour: 11 a.m. February 7) at the Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily except Mon., noon-5 p.m. Sun. Free. ycba.yale.edu. Organized to complement The Lure of the East: British Orientalist Painting, 1830-1925, Pearls to Pyramids: British Visual Culture and the Levant, 1600-1830, explores the history of British cultural interchange with the Middle East through trade, tourism, archaeological exploration and military interest. Exhibition introduces the geographical and historical context of the Mediterranean trade with paintings by Sir Peter Lely, the William van de Veldes (father and son), and through early travel accounts. The impact of commodities such as coffee and silk is examined through prints, broadsides and books. February 7-April 28 at the Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily except Mon., noon-5 p.m. Sun. Free. ycba.yale.edu.

january 2008

Colorful Impressions: The Printmaking Revolution in 18th-Century France. Celebrating one of the most innovative periods in the history of color printmaking, exhibition includes 95 images by the most celebrated artists of the time, including François Boucher, JeanHonoré Fragonard, Jean-Baptiste le Prince, Hubert Robert and Jean-Antoine Watteau. These images reflect the carefree spirit of the ancien régime, an era of royal indulgence before the French Revolution. Many of the prints are presented in multiple impressions or alongside related drawings and demonstrate the newly invented engraving and etching techniques of the era combined with new ways of printing a single image from multiple plates. January 29–May 4 at the Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St., New Haven. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily except Mon. (until 8 p.m. Thurs.), 1-6 p.m. Sun. Free. 203432-0600, artgallery.yale.edu.

BELLES LETTRES A medieval “best-seller,” the Nibelungenlied soon fell into obscurity. When a manuscript of the epic poem was discovered in 1755, German literary critics hoped it would come to rival Homer’s epics in popularity and prestige. Against the backdrop of German admiration for ancient poetry, particularly the Iliad and the Odyssey, Creating Germany’s National Myth: The

Afro-Peruvian music on typical instruments, but also uses homemade ones — like the cajon (a wooden crate), cajita (a tithing box) and quijada de burro (a donkey jawbone) — to create their distinctive sound. Singers croon along in Spanish, while dancers gyrate to the sounds of the melodic guitar and percussive ensemble. 8 p.m. January 30-31 at Yale University Theatre, 222 York St., New Haven. $48-$20. 203-432-1234, yalerep.org. Peru Negro performs traditional and original Afro-Peruvian music and dance.

Nibelungenlied and Its Homerian Context chronicles the creation of a “German national myth” from the ill-suited cloth of the Nibelungenlied. Through January 9 at Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 121 Wall St., New Haven. Open 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs., until 5 p.m. Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. Free. 203-432-2977, www.library.yale.edu/beinecke/. Metaphor Taking Shape: Poetry, Art and the Book. A broad display of books exploring the ways in which poets, publishers, artists and printers have navigated the intersection of poetry and art in printed formats. The exhibition considers the ways poetry and book arts interact and connect, their potentially conflicting functions and their shared context. The materials on display explore questions of verbal and visual metaphor making, emphasizing the roles of creative and collaborative processes involved in uniting image, verse and print. January 14-March 31 at Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 121 Wall St., New Haven. Open 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs., until 5 p.m. Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. Free. 203-432-2977, www.library.yale.edu/beinecke/. The Reckoner’s Art: Reading & Writing Mathematics in Early Modern England. Mathematics became an essential part of literate culture in England in the early modern period. This exhibition showcases the means, serious and playful, by which readers learned, practiced, and implemented mathematics in England, from

the mid-sixteenth through the eighteenth century. Student exercise books, almanacs, textbooks, illustrations, account books, poems, literature and instruments made out of paper are included in the exhibit. January 16-April 16 at Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, 121 Wall St., New Haven. Open 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Mon.-Thurs., until 5 p.m. Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. Free. 203-432-2977, library.yale.edu/beinecke/.

COMEDY The Funny Stages: Improv Comedy & Open Mic. The Green Street Arts Center teams up with the New Haven Theater Co.’s acclaimed improv ensemble for a night of laughs and original work. Toda’s headlines become tonight’s punchlines as NHTC’s show sends up every aspect of local news and media infotainment. After the show the stage is handed over to the audience for open-mic participation by poets, singers, actors and writers (signup begins 7 p.m.). 7:30-9 p.m. February 1 at Green Street Arts Center, 51 Green St., Middletown. $5 (performers free). 860-685-7871, GreenStreetArtsCenter.org.

DANCE Traditional African Dance. The Imani Ensemble, a youth group based in Bridgeport, will perform dances from Congo, Rwanda and Zambia. 3 p.m. January 12 at Center for the Arts, 40 Railroad Ave., Milford. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.–Fri., 2-5 p.m. Sat. Free. 203878-6647, milfordfac@optonline.net, www.milfordarts.org.

FAMILY EVENTS Chef’s Table Dinner. Chef and coowner Denise Appel of Zinc and Chow restaurants will discuss technique and ingredients while leading guests through a light dinner and wine selection. 6 p.m. January 9 at Zinc, 964 Chapel St., New Haven. $55 all-inclusive. 203-624-0507, elizabethciarlelli@zincfood.com, www.zincfood.com. The collection of animals at the Coastal Center is in need of some TLC. If learning to care for domestic and wild reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates holds appeal, then the Animal Care Club is for you. Each week, meet a new group of animals and learn about their natural history and care, including a rose-haired tarantula, ball-python, pine snake

and many other creatures. After completing the course, participants may join After-School Volunteer Corps that helps care for the animals. Limited to ten participants ages 13-18. 3:45-4:45 p.m. January 11, 18, 25 at Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center at Milford, 1 Milford Point Rd., Milford. $35 members/$55 non-members (reservations required). 203-878-7440, ctaudubon.org/visit/ milford.htm.

January 16 at Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center at Milford, 1 Milford Point Rd., Milford. $10 members/$15 non-members (includes 1 child, 1 adult). 203-878-7440, ctaudubon.org/visit/milford.htm.

Holiday Toy Trains Exhibition: Mr. Gilbert’s Railroad. Eli Whitney Museum’s annual hands-on exhibition of American Flyer trains showcases classic toy trains produced by New Haven’s A.C. Gilbert Co. that still run beautifully after 50 years. Through January 13 at the Eli Whitney Museum, 915 Whitney Ave., Hamden. Open noon-5 p.m. Wed.-Fri. and Sun., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat. Free. Wooden trains to construct: $8. 203-777-1833, eliwhitney.org.

The beach in winter is a magical place. Walk the edge where land and sea meet on a naturalist-led discovery hike. Venture out to Smith’s Point to see what the tide may bring, Beachcombing as you go. Will you encounter a rare snowy owl, harbor seal, or something else special? Come find out. 12:30-1:30 9.m. January 19 at Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center at Milford, 1 Milford Point Rd., Milford. $7 members ($5 child), $12 ($10) non-members, $5 seniors. Advance registration only. 203-878-7440, ctaudubon.org/visit/milford.htm.

Winter has arrived and we humans shift into cocoon mode. But how do other mammals prepare and what do they do to survive the harsh winter months? Learn how native fauna prepare for winter in Mammals in Winter, part of the Nature Babies series. For children ages three to five with a parent or adult guardian. 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Public Stargazing Session. 7 p.m. January 17 at the Leitner Family Observatory, 355 Prospect St., New Haven. Free. cobb@astro.yale.edu, astro.yale.edu/publicnights.

Grumpy Groundhogs. According to legend, on February 2 the groundhog comes out of his hole. If he sees his shadow, he dives back in again for another six weeks of winter. Since groundhogs are still deep in hibernation until February 2

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— and we don’t want to make them grumpy by waking them up too early — we’ll make a groundhog puppet instead. Part of the Nature Babies series. For children ages three to five with parent or adult. 10:30-11:30 a.m. January 30 at Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center at Milford, 1 Milford Point Rd., Milford. $10 members/$15 non-members (includes 1 child, 1 adult). 203-878-7440, ctaudubon.org/visit/milford.htm. Come dressed as your favorite princess, pirate, or pirate princess for dainty treats, tales of gales, and a puppet show filled with arrrrgs! ahoy mateys! and royal capers at High Seas & High Tea. 10:30 a.m. February 2 at the Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. Free. ycba.yale.edu.

LECTURES/ DISCUSSIONS Art in African Cultures. Art talk by Nzogu Kulya. 2:30 p.m. January 12 at Center for the Arts, 40 Railroad Ave., Milford. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.– Fri., 2-5 p.m. Sat. Free. 203-878-6647, milfordfac@optonline.net, www. milfordarts.org.

False Nature: British Meditations on the Poison Tree of Java. Gallery talk with Sarah Tiffin, curator of pre-1970 Asian art, Queensland (Aus.) Art Gallery. 12:30 p.m. Jan. 22 at the Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. Free. ycba.yale.edu. Dennis Spencer, MD, professor and chairman of neurosurgery at the Yale School of Medicine will lead a gallery talk on The Brain as an Emotional Memory Network in the Perception of Art. 12:30 p.m. January 29 at the Yale Center for British Art, 1080 Chapel St., New Haven. Free. ycba.yale.edu. As part of its Black History Month celebration, Quinnipiac University hosts A Conversation with Harold Ford. The former Tennessee congressman is vice chairman of Merrill Lynch and chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council. 7 p.m. February 6 in Alumni Hall at Quinnipiac University, 275 Mount Carmel Ave., Hamden. Free. www. quinnipiac.edu.

MUSIC: Classical As part of the Yale School of Music’s Faculty Artists Series, pianist

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Ilya Poletaev performs in recital. 8 p.m. January 15 at Sprague Memorial Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. Free. yale.edu/music.

Clive Greensmith, cello to New Haven to perform HAYDN Quartet in D major, Op. 50, no. 6 (The Frog), Toshio HOSOKAWA Blossoming, and BEETHOVEN Quartet in E flat, Op. 127. 8 p.m. January 29 in Morse Recital Hall, Sprague Memorial Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. $34-$27 ($14 students). yale.edu/music.

Music Director William Boughton leads the New Haven Symphony Orchestra in a program of BRAHMS Variations on a Theme of Haydn Op. 56a, WALTON Viola Concerto with soloist Jennifer Stumm and TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 5 in E minor Op. 64. 7:30 p.m. January 17 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. $65-$10. 203-562-5666, newhavensymphony.org. Pianist Peter Frankl with faculty artists Stephen Taylor, oboe, David Shifrin, clarinet, William Purvis, horn, Frank Morelli, bassoon, Ani Kavafian, violin, Jesse Levine, viola and Ole Akahoshi, cello. HAYDN Sonata No. 52 in E flat, BEETHOVEN Quintet for Piano and Winds in E flat, Op. 16, DOHNANYI Sextet in C, Op. 37. 8 p.m. January 18 at Sprague Memorial Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. $18$10 ($5 students). yale.edu/music. Light of Light. Stephen Layton conducts the Yale Schola Cantorum and soloists from the Yale Voxte in English choral masterpieces, under the direction of Simon Carrington and advisement of James

The world-acclaimed Tokyo String Quartet returns to the Elm City for a January 29 performance at Yale’s Sprague Hall. Taylor. Music of Britten, Byrd and Macmillan. 8 p.m. January 19 at St. Mary’s Church, 5 Hillhouse Ave., New Haven. yale.edu/music. Music of Bach, Schumann, Milhaud and Franck performed by Jesse Levine, viola and Morey Ritt, piano as part of the Yale School of Music Faculty Artists Series. 8 p.m. January 23 at Sprague Memorial Hall, 470 College St., New Haven. Free. yale.edu/music.

The Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale, under the baton of Music Director Shinik Hahm, performs: DVORAK Carnival Overture, THEOFANIDIS Rainbow Body, DVORAK Symphony No. 9 in E minor (New World). 8 p.m. January 25 at Woolsey Hall, New Haven. Free. yale.edu/music. Tokyo String Quartet. The Yale Chamber Music Society series brings Martin Beaver and Kikuei Ikeda, violin, Kazuhide Isomura, viola and

The Divine Duke. The Turtle Island String Quartet fuses the classical quartet aesthetic with contemporary American musical styles. With vibraphonist-composer Stefon Harris, the group will explores Duke Ellington’s musical legacy, employing the string quartet form to shed new light on the timeless joy and beauty contained in the greatest music of the American jazz masters. 8 p.m. (pre-concert talk 7:15) February 1 in Crowell Concert Hall, Wesleyan University, Middletown. $24 ($17 seniors, staff; $6 students. 860-6853355, boxoffice@wesleyan.edu. Music Director Toshiyuki Shimada leads the Yale Symphony Orchestra in a program of: BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 1, Op. 21 in C major, DUFFY Three Places in New Haven, TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No. 6, Op. 74 in B minor (Pathetique). 8 p.m. February 2 at Woolsey Hall, 500 College St., New Haven. $15-$10 ($2

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students). 203-562-5666, www.shubert. com or yale.edu/music. Classical and electric guitarist Michael Nicolella performs and conducts a master class. 7 p.m. February 6 (concert) and 5:30 p.m. February 7 (master class) at Gateway Comm. College, 60 Sargent Dr., New Haven. www.gwctc.commnet.edu

Popular Catch the Mars Volta on their U.S. club tour. The group will be debuting material from their yet-to-be-released (on January 29) album The Bedlam in Goliath. All ages. 9 p.m. (8 p.m. doors open) January 11 at Toadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Place, 300 York St., New Haven. $27.50. 203624-8623, toadsplac@aol.com, www. toadsplace.com. Legendary blues guitarist, singer and producer Johnny Winter will be in concert with Remember September and the Bonesmen. 21 and older. 8 p.m. (7 p.m. doors open) January 12 at Toadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Place, 300 York St., New Haven. $17.50 advance, $20 at door. 203-6248623, toadsplac@aol.com, www. toadsplace.com. Kick off 2008 with the dynamic folk duo of Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen from Vermont. Although this husband-wife team brandish solo reputations and musical histories, they are pure magic when they perform together. Mangsen has been described as one of the finest pure ballad singers in folk music today, while Gillette has been considered one of Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s finest singer-songwriters and guitarists for decades, having penned songs for artists including John Denver, Garth Brooks and Linda Ronstadt. 8 p.m. January 12 at First Congregational Church, 1009 Main St., Branford. $12 ($10 members, $3 ages 12 and under). 203-488-7715, branfordfolk@yahoo. com, folknotes.org/branfordfolk. New-York-based hip-hop group, WuTang Clan. promotes their newest album, 8 Diagrams, the Clanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first release since 2001. 21 and older. 9:30 p.m. (8 p.m. doors open) January 13 at Toadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Place, 300 York St., New Haven. $40. 203-624-8623, toadsplac@aol. com, www.toadsplace.com. School of Seven Bells will be opening for Blonde Redhead. All ages. 9 p.m. (8 p.m. doors open) January 18 at Toadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Place, 300 York St., New Haven. $17.50 advance, $20.00 at door. 203624-8623, toadsplac@aol.com, www. toadsplace.com. The award-winning original star of Broadwayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rent and Aida, Adam

Pascal performs his original modern rock songs from his solo albums Civilian and Model Prisoner, as well as his interpretation of classic Broadway tunes. 8 p.m. January 19 at Shubert Performing Arts Center, 247 College St., New Haven. $35-$20. 203562-5666, shubert.com.

NATURAL HISTORY Seeing Wonders: The Nature of Fly Fishing. Overview of the history of the sport and the techniques of fly fishing and fly-tying with displays of historical rods and reels and fly fishing entomology. Also, fly fishing stories and equipment of celebrity and Presidential anglers including Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Bing Crosby and George H.W. Bush. Through February 4 at Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, 170 Whitney Ave., New Haven. Open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, noon-5 p.m. Sunday. $7 ($6 seniors, $5 ages 3-18). 203-4325050, www.yale.edu/peabody. Small Things Considered. From a nutmeg to a strand of George Washingtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hair to the classic Wiffle Ball, discover the big impact small objects have made on history and our lives. Through February 23 at the Connecticut Historical Society, 1 Elizabeth St., Hartford. Open noon-5 p.m. Tues-Sat. $6 ($3 seniors, students). 860-236-5621, www.chs.org.

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Night Ride on the Canal. Enjoy the winter and get those base miles with a weekly two- to three-hour ride up the Farmington Canal Trail. Riders maintain a very moderate (15-17 mph) pace. Participants should bring lights (some may be available for loan) and helmets. 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays January-March at The Devilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Gear Bike Shop, 433 Chapel St., New Haven. Free. 203-773-9288, www. thedevilsgear.com. Elm City Cycling organizes Luluâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ride, weekly two- to four-hour rides for all levels (17-19 mph average). Cyclists leave 10 a.m. from Luluâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s European CafĂŠ as a single group; no one is dropped. 10 a.m. Sundays January 6, 13, 20, 27 at Luluâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s European CafĂŠ, 49 Cottage St., New Haven. Free. 203-773-9288, www. elmcitycycling.org/.

Parent Tours: January 8, 15, 29 8:45 am Please call to reserve your place. Application deadline: February 1, 2008. 263 Chapel Street, New Haven 203.787.1584

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Road Races/Hikes Singles Hike. Excursion for active single people in their 30s through 50s. Participants are asked to meet at 9 a.m., bring water and wear hiking boots and bright clothing. Hikers are organized by hiking skill level (advanced, novice and social). Hike starts at 9:30 a.m. and lasts about two hours. No children or pets allowed, singles only (this doesn’t mean you can’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend). Optional brunch will follow hike. Non-hikers may join the group at the restaurant for brunch. 9:30 a.m. (meet at 9 a.m.) January 27 at West Rock, Hamden. Free. 203-271-2125 or 860-489-9611, www.activesingles.org.

Spectator Sports The University of New Haven women’s basketball team, at press time undefeated in the East Coast Conference, shoots it out with Adelphi University (7 p.m. January 9), C.W. Post (7:30 p.m. January 16), Southern New Hampshire University (3 p.m. January 21), St. Thomas Aquinas College (5:30 p.m. January 23), Concordia College (2 p.m. January 26) and University of Bridgeport (noon February 2), while the men’s team takes on C.W. Post (5:30 p.m. January 16), Bloomfield College (4 p.m. January 20), St. Thomas Aquinas College (7:30 p.m. January 23), Concordia College (4 p.m. January 26), Queens College (7 p.m. January 28) and University of Bridgeport (4 p.m. February 2). At Charger Gymnasium, University of New Haven, New Haven. www.newhaven.edu/athletics/ mbball/schedule.html. The Division II defending national champion Southern Connecticut State Lady Owls defend their title in home games this month against Le Moyne (5:30 p.m. January 10), American International (1:30 p.m. January

january 2008

12), Southern New Hampshire (1:30 p.m. January 26) and St. Rose (5:30 p.m. January 30). At James Moore Field House, 125 Wintergreen Ave., New Haven. 203-392-6000, www. southernowls.com/teams/basketballw/scoreboard.php

The men’s ice hockey team of Yale University battles Princeton (7 p.m. January 11), Quinnipiac (7 p.m. January 12) and Dartmouth (7 p.m. February 1) in ECAC action. At Ingalls Rink, Yale University, New Haven. $11$8 (Yale students free). yalebulldogs. cstv.com. In basketball, the male Bulldogs (Yale) take to the courts vs. Oberlin (2 p.m. January 12) and three Ivy League opponents: Brown (7 p.m. January 19), Columbia (7 p.m. February 1) and Cornell (7 p.m. February 2). At Payne Whitney Gymnasium, Yale University, New Haven. $8-$6. yalebulldogs. cstv.com The Lady Owls of the Southern Connecticut State University gymnastics team tumble, spin, and balance their way vs. West Chester (1 p.m. January 19), a tri-meet with Yale and Bridgeport (1 p.m. January 20) and University of Bridgeport (1 p.m. February 2). At James Moore Field House, 125 Wintergreen Ave., New Haven. 203-392-6003, www.southernowls.com/teams/ gymnastics-w/scoreboard.php. Southern Connecticut State University men’s and women’s swim teams take to the pool vs. Marist (1 p.m. January 19) and West Chester (1 p.m. January 26). At Hutchinson Natatorium, Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent St., New Haven. 203-392-6003, www.southernowls.com/teams/ swimming-m/scoreboard.php.

REVUES/CABARETS In the Limelight: Red Hot and Blues Cobalt Rhythm Kings.Once a month, Green Street’s performance studio transforms into an elegant cabaret. The Cobalt Rhythm Kings are steeped in the jazzy jump blues of

www.RunningPast.com

Southern Connecticut State University men’s basketball team vs. Le Moyne (7:30 p.m. January 10), American International (3:30 p.m. January 12), Southern New Hampshire University (3:30 p.m. January 26) and St. Rose (7:30 p.m. January 30). At James Moore Field House, 125 Wintergreen Ave., New Haven. 203-392-6000, www. southernowls.com/teams/basketballm/scoreboard.php

CRITIC’S PICK: This Run’s for You

PHOTOGRAPH :

Critical Mass. The ride you shouldn’t miss! Participants meet at the flagpole on the New Haven Green at 5:30 p.m. on the last Friday of each month for a slow-paced ride through New Haven streets. The ride ranges from 30 minutes to over an hour depending on weather. Critical Mass is not an organization; it’s an “unorganized coincidence” — a movement of bicycles, in the streets as traffic. After the event, everyone is invited to a potluck dinner at the Devil’s Gear Bike Shop. 5:30 p.m. January 25 at Temple and Chapel streets, New Haven. Free. www. elmcitycycling.org/.

For all those adventurous souls who perhaps are not into the run-of-the-mill marathons and fun runs, comes a run worthy of pulling on your balaclava, running tights, wool socks and sneakers, the Bernie Jurale Memorial Tradition Run. This run celebrates the belief and proof that anyone can conquer a mountain with enough determination. High-school teacher Bernie Jurale began the traditin in 1970 by running up to the radio towers at the summit of West Peak in Meriden as a means of celebrating his 70th birthday. Some of his students joined in on the run in subsequent years. Jurale made it up the mountain for the last time for his 79th birthday. Walkers, hikers, joggers and runners of all ages and skill

Big Joe Turner, the cool West Coast swing blues of William Clarke and the hard-edged Chicago blues of Muddy Waters and Freddie King. 8 p.m. January 18 at Green Street Arts Center, 51 Green St., Middletown. $8 ($5 members, seniors, students). 860-685-7871, www.greenstreetartscenter.org.

THEATER Set in the East Village of New York City, this rock musical follows a group of young artists stuggling to survive and live for today. Based on Giacomo Puccini’s classic 1896

levels are welcome to help honor Jurale’s memory by tackling the 5K course that begins in Hubbard Park and ends at Castle Craig (a climb of about 700 feet in elevation). Snow and ice are often present. There is no registration fee, no first prize (everyone finishing the run receives an embroidered patch, a certificate and a chance to win a picture of Castle Craig) and times are not recorded (instead, results are listed alphabetically). 10:30 a.m. (9:30 a.m. registration) January 20 at the Maintenance Facility in Hubbard Park, Meriden. Free. mail@runningpast.com, www.runningpast.com/trun.htm. Adventuresome runners brave the elements for the start of Bernie Jurale Memorial Tradition Run in Meriden.

opera, La Bohème, Rent has made a lasting mark on Broadway with its powerful songs and story that addresses themes of homelessness, AIDS and drug addiction with compassion and thrilling audiences with its moving tale of hopes and dreams. This production of the Tony-winning Broadway musical boasts a talented young cast that features South African Idol winner Heinz Winckler as Roger Davis and American Idol finalist Anwar Robinson as Tom Collins. January 2227 at Shubert Performing Arts Center, 247 College St., New Haven. $68-$38. 203-562-5666, shubert.com.

Known to audiences as the creator of Fires in the Mirror and Twilight: Los Angeles, Anna Deavere Smith’s newest one-woman show, Let Me Down Easy, explores the resiliency and vulnerability of the human body. Channeling the dramatically different corporeal experiences of her many interview subjects, from survivors of the Rwandan genocide to the head coach of the national champion University of Texas football team, Smith captures a kind of grace on stage, a grace that will tell us about the resourcefulness of the human spirit. January 11-February 3 at Long Wharf Theatre Mainstage, 222 Sargent Dr., New Haven. $62-$42 regular run ($42-$32 previews). 203-787-4282, 800782-8497, info@longwharf.org, www.longwharf.org. Carol and Jerry celebrate their anniversary with friends Martin and Judy. But an evening of haute cuisine and expensive wine is cut short in The Evildoers when Martin, no longer able to repress years of frustration, lashes out at the people he loves. Rebecca Bayla Taichman directs David Adjmi’s ferociously funny play with unexpected twists. The horror lurking behind a quiet dinner with friends is unleashed in this world premiere production. January 18-February 9 at Yale Repertory Theatre, 1120 Chapel St., New Haven. $58-$15. 203432-1234, yalerep.org. Nunsense II: The Second Coming. This sequel to the international hit musical Nunsense has the same five nuns back on stage at Mt. Saint Helen’s School for a thank-you program for their supporters. Since their first time out was such a success, they have decided that they should stick to their successful variety-show formula. This time they are forced to work around the set dressing of The Mikado which is being presented the following week by the Hoboken Music Society on the Mt. Saint Helen’s stage. Hilarity ensues involving the variety-show performances and many musical numbers. 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun. January 1127 on Stage II at Seven Angels Theatre, Hamilton Park Pavilion, Waterbury. $26. 203-757-4676, www. sevenangelstheatre.org. The Underground Railway Theater presents a story of Harriet Tubman and the Quaker women who helped her lead 300 slaves to freedom in Are You Ready, My Sister? Historical adventure story features live music based on spirituals of the time, dramatic scenes and audience participation. The set is a giant patchwork quilt; as the story unfolds, each square of the quilt comes to life with shadow puppets and painted backlit scenery. 1 p.m. January 28 at Lyman Center for the Performing Arts, Southern Connecticut State University, 501 Crescent St., New Haven. Free (tickets required). 203-392-6154, www.southernct.edu/events/undergroundrailway_ 5948.

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2007-2008 Season

Guest Artists PMAC Chamber Orchestra presents

A Night in Venice! Friday, January 11, 2008 7:30 pm, Main Theater Tickets: $25/Sr. Citizens $20/Students $10

hoate’s professional chamber orchestra-in-residence performs works of the Italian masters under the baton of Maestro Philip Ventre. Featuring concerti for strings, flute and violoncello, including Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” and Vivaldi’s sonnets which will be read in Italian and in English.

Student Performances Now in its 12th year!

Please send CALENDAR information to CALENDAR@conntact.com no later than 15th of the month preceding calendar month of event. Please include date, time, location, event description, cost and contact information. Photographs must be at least 300 dpi resolution and are published at discretion of NEW HAVEN magazine.

Winter Cabaret January 24–27, 2008 Thursday–Saturday, 7:30 pm Sunday, 2:00 pm, Arts Center Gallery Tickets: $12/Sr. Citizens & Students $10

ome shake off those winter chills with an evening of musical theater, featuring the best songs of Broadway, Off-Broadway, and the Silver Screen.

Call the Box Office at (203) 697-2398 or order online at www.choate.edu/boxoffice. Christian Street, Wallingford, CT Free Parking new haven

WORDS of MOUTH

PHOTOGRAPH:

Steve Blazo

By Liese Kline

Proprietors Raymond Cruciani (left) and John DiCrosta are open for business in Milford.

NEW EATS:

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tep into Johnny Ray’s Restaurant at 1015 Bridgeport Avenue in Milford and you’re immediately transported a world away from the bustle of the Post Road. A wall-length cascade of water crowns the onyx-topped bar and live piano serenades a crowd that’s a little bit Desperate Housewives with a splash of Everyone Loves Raymond. But whatever your demographic, Johnny Ray’s is a lot of a fun and another highend option in this stretch of Milford, once known principally for its array of fast-food outlets. Owner Raymond Cruciani has done

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wonders with the location, nestled among strip malls and dealerships and a bit difﬁcult to spot from the road. A spare exterior barely hints at the highceilinged, opulent space within, featuring a bar with lots of room for standing and mingling, which a mostly middle-aged crowd was doing with gusto on a recent weekend night. But even with a packed house, noise levels never got unbearable and the atmosphere remained relaxed and comfortable. Drinkers will ﬁnd themselves right at home: Cocktails are generous, wines come with lots of by-the-glass choices and the beer list includes picks like

Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome Ale. Appetizers like wild mushrooms with goat cheese and bread with olives and hummus prime the appetite for entrées like a buttery salmon encrusted with plantain. The dining room with its dramatic pink banquettes makes for a more intimate meal, but the bar is where it’s at, especially when the piano player gets warmed up later in the evening. For those looking for a classy break from shopping or a lively spot for cocktails with the girls, Johnny Ray’s is the place to be.

Steve Blazo PHOTOGRAPH:

Just what Hamden ordered!

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Frank Bernardo serves up tasty fried seafood and chowdah at Castaways.

Now Accepting Valentine’s Day Reservations

Just A Taste: Castaways Seafood Restaurant

ou don’t get the sea breeze or panoramic view, but you do get the tasty fried food and chowder at Castaways Seafood Restaurant, a new eatery at 754 State Street that can save you a drive to the shoreline. Despite its downtown location and fauxbeach house décor, Castaways delivers well-prepared and fresh seafood and ﬁlls a gap in New Haven’s dining options. Start with the top-notch clam chowder, chunky with potato and tender clams. Lobster bisque features a hunk of claw meat in a delicately seasoned, milky broth. Both soups are warming and light enough to leave plenty of room for the specialty of the house — everything fried.

A cornmeal-based batter coats the ﬁsh in a platter and offsets the meat with a pleasing crunch. Crisp, slender onion rings are the

best choice on the side, along with the fresh-tasting coleslaw. The more calorieconscious will appreciate the grilled scallops, tender and perfectly cooked in a savory jus. Castaways also fries up whole-belly clams, clam strips, calamari and shrimp in both platters and appetizer sizes. Artichokes also dive into the fryer on the dinner menu, which offers higher-end entrees like cioppino seafood soup, Seafood Fra Diavolo and Filet Oscar. Salads, burgers and a kids’ menu are also available, along with a limited selection of beer and cocktails. But Castaways’ main draw in a town with limitless Italian options is the fried seafood, and owner Frank Bernardo sure knows his way around a vat of hot oil.

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“Dr. Mel” Goldstein gets up at 2 a.m. weekdays to forecast the weather on WTNH-TV, but he still takes time to eat out frequently around New Haven. And with winter tightening its grip on the region, he’s got a prescription to fight off the shivers: the chicken and rice soup at House of Chao in Westville. “It’s the best,” Dr. Mel says of the eatery’s flavorful concoction. “It’s very good for anybody who has a cold — it works.” With its innovative take on Chinese food, intimate ambience and offbeat hours, House of Chao has attracted a cult following among foodies, and Dr. Mel is a big fan. “It’s the absolute best Chinese restaurant, and I know Chinese food,” Dr. Mel says. His favorite entrée there is a teriyaki-style chicken dish that owner Nelson Chao prepares specially for the meteorologist. “It’s very light, it’s very tasty — it’s terrific,” he says.

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A resident of East Haven, Dr. Mel also enjoys the hamburgers at the Rib House on Route 1 and the big portions and variety of Twin Pines Diner. The red pies at Minervini’s Pizzeria on Main Street rival any on Wooster Street, he adds. But Dr. Mel and his wife, Arlene, still ﬁnd themselves regularly making the trip across town to sample Nelson Chao’s latest creation.

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514 Bridgeport Avenue, Shelton • 929-8666 www.KobisRestaurant.com 58

january 2008

“[Chao] has his own recipes, his own spices, his own ideas of how Asian food should be presented,” Dr. Mel says. “I’ve eaten in every Chinese place around here — it’s absolutely the best.”

BEST OF THE REST EDITOR’S PICKS: Seafood Lenny’s Indian Head Inn, 205 S. Montowese St., Branford (203-488-1500) . Fried clams praised by national critics and the freshest steamers around make Lenny’s a local favorite. The Shore Dinner covers all the bases with cherrystones, corn on the cob, lobster and steamers. Lenny & Joe’s Fish Tale, 1301 Boston Post Rd., Madison (203-245-7289) . What it lacks in formality it makes up for in taste — the freshest, crispest fried seafood around. The perfect spot for quick eats after beach or a coastal drive, with an ice cream stand onsite. Guilford Mooring, 505 Whitﬁeld St., Guilford

(203-458-2921) . Pasta dishes, a stellar chowder and a full range of grilled ﬁsh set this Shoreline favorite apart. And where else can you Lazy Man’s Stuffed Lobster as you watch lobstermen at work on the Sound? YellowFin’s Seafood Grille, 1027 South Main St., Cheshire (203-250-9999) . Flavors are light and bright at this fusion eatery, with a menu that ranges from cioppino to Asian scallop salad to Tilapia St. Tropez. A raw bar and house-brewed beer round out the offerings. Jimmie’s of Savin Rock, 5 Rock St., West Haven. 934-3212. Take the family out and enjoy the boardwalk view at this West Haven institution, known for its moderate prices and casual atmosphere. All the fried favorites, a full menu of broiled ﬁsh and lobster and the famous split hot dog.

EDITOR’S PICK: Sweet Sunshine Chili Sauces

The

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Tues–Sat: 9–8 Sun: 9–7 1302 Whalley Ave. New Haven

Paul Sarris’ New Haven-bottled sauces are coming soon to a supermarket near you. PHOTOGRAPH:

Steve Blazo

January Wine Tasting

Spicy, fruity and smokin’ hot aren’t often used to describe Connecticut products, but Paul Sarris of Sweet Sunshine Chili Sauces wants to change all that.

Jamaican Jerk and Atomic ﬂavors add a complex heat to stir-frys and marinades, while the basic Sweet sauce shines as an alternative to ketchup on everything.

Sarris’ New Haven-bottled sauces are coming soon to a supermarket near you and have won him a ﬁstful of prizes at tastings across the country. Available online at SweetSunshine.com.

To get a full ﬂavor proﬁle, Sarris uses puréed habanero, scotch bonnet and ancho chilies in his sauces instead of simple pepper extracts. His family’s New Orleans roots and love of food also shapes the recipes, Sarris says.

“We’re trying to break new ground, come up with flavors that you’ve never tasted before,” says Sarris, an entrepreneur based in Litchfield. “You’re going to taste the fruit in the pepper itself, then the heat starts to build.” Sweet Sunshine’s Roasted Shallot & Garlic flavor balances sweet and tangy with a peppery kick and makes a perfect dipping sauce for chicken nuggets.

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“Our motto is ‘Flavor Before Fire,’” he notes. “We’re not going to make something just hot.” The explosion in ethnic restaurants in the New Haven area shows that Connecticut is ready for its own brand of chili sauces, Sarris says. And Sweet Sunshine’s success at tastings — including a “Best in Show”

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CHEF ON THE GRILL Norma Parks and her son Geoffrey cook up savory Jamaican favorites on Whalley Ave.

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Hekj[ ' CWZ_ied M[ijXheea “A treat for the Senses” – Hartford Courant Steve Blazo

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PHOTOGRAPH:

– New York Times

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Norma Parks Caribbean Connection Hungry folk from all over squeeze themselves into Caribbean Connection at 370 Whalley Avenue for a taste of Norma Parks’ topnotch jerk chicken, oxtail and other Jamaican favorites. Parks and her family have run the tiny takeoutonly restaurant for three years and it has already earned a reputation as among the best Caribbean spots in the state. The savory oxtail — tender nuggets of beef on the bone in an subtly spiced sauce — is outstanding, and everything from the rice and beans to a greaseless slab of plantain shows the care of a meticulous chef. Where did you learn to cook?

FUSION ASIAN CUISINE HIBACHI STEAK HOUSE, SUSHI BAR & LOUNGE 203.926.1933 702 BRIDGEPORT AVENUE, SHELTON WWW.ASIANBISTRORESTAURANT.NET 60

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In Jamaica, a place called St. Catherine’s. My godmother taught me how to cook, and when I came here I started cooking at the restaurant. What is your most popular dish? People love the oxtail and the brown stew chicken. They also like the callaloo [greens] and dumplings and the fried red snapper. Sometimes we have ackee and saltﬁsh [fruit and dried cod], which is the Jamaican national dish. We also sell Jamaican drinks like beetroot, Irish moss and ginger beer.

What is your favorite restaurant in the area other than your own? I love American Steakhouse in West Haven. They have the best ribs and mashed potatoes. I love the BBQ wings at Kentucky Fried Chicken — we call it Kentucky in Jamaica. They are so good. What would you choose for your last meal on earth? Chicken back and dumplings, with some carrot juice. My daughter Tamara makes that and it’s so good. Chicken back’s got a lot of bones — I like sucking on the bones, but if you don’t like bones you won’t like it. Also I would have some chicken soup or red bean, kidney bean, soup. Then some ice cream, rum raisin or grapenut. But in Jamaica we really don’t eat a lot of dessert. What makes Jamaican food special? It’s the seasoning: allspice, curry powder, garlic powder, paprika — the Jamaican seasoning. You taste it in the jerk chicken, the curry chicken, the oxtail. Everybody uses it. We also have things like rice and beans, rice and peas and callaloo. The taste comes from Africa, but all kinds of people come here — Jamaican, African, white, everybody.

Jovin

Continued from 26

such information is classified, according a spokeswoman. The state of Connecticut does make a single appearance in the 9/11 Commission Report, which traced all the known movements of the hijackers in the years leading up to the attack. Several al Qaeda-linked individuals drove to Fairfield in early 2001, where they stopped at a hotel and telephoned flight schools. They then drove back to the New York area in search of a larger Islamic community in which to hide themselves. Linking Jovin’s murder to al Qaeda also begs this question: Since when have Islamic radicals ever executed an infidel without trumpeting their kill to the world? As the years pass, the answer to the Jovin mystery seems to drift farther from reach. After all, unsolved murders are not as rare as it would seem from reading true crime novels or watching Law and Order. Among New Haven’s more notable unsolved crimes was the 1973 murder of Penny Serra, a case that wasn’t cracked for 26 years. Many less celebrated cases in the city also go cold out of the public eye, like the 2004 double murder of a homeless couple in a Grand Avenue flophouse. No arrests have been made in the case. Among the unsolved cases listed on the NHPD Web site are the murders of Henry Smith, Herman Reid, John Robinson, Elizabeth Rhinehart, Troy Henderson and Alfred Garrett, some of which date back decades. Several of these cases list rewards of up to $50,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. The Jovin case reward is $150,000. But the Jovin murder still haunts many Yale graduates of that era, says Golson, who works at a film company in California. “I always thought that high-profile murders of that nature that had so much manpower assigned to them, that they generally got solved,” Golson says. “It’s very troubling to me that her killer is still on the loose, that her killer’s not been brought to justice.”

High walls rise in front of the Old Campus dorms so you can’t see into any windows. You don’t see anyone in the cavernous space of Phelps Gate, and don’t meet a soul walking along College. No one is visible on the upper Green and trafﬁc whizzes by on Elm so fast you can’t even see faces.

closed up tight against the chill. You wonder if anyone living on the street remembers that night nine years before, if anyone in the neighborhood is still haunted by the vision of a 21-year-old girl lying face down in the dark, her life seeping out into the grass.

You look to your right as you walk down College Street, the Christmas tree on the Green a nimbus of red and gold sparks in the distance. Trees stretch their bare limbs skyward, glossy in the light of street lamps.

You walk the neighborhood, looking up the street as cars cruise past, one every minute or so. You kick through piles of leaves. Your eyes are drawn to the inky void of Edgerton Park a few streets over. After a few minutes, you start feeling chilled.

Half an hour later you drive up to the spot where the dying Jovin was found. On this December 4, all the houses are

You get back into your car, and head for home.v

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Tonight you are tired, eager to get home. But this is December 4, 2007, and winter has made up for a late start. It is gusty and cold and all the dorm windows overlooking College Street are closed. Nine years later, on the date and at the time that Suzanne Jovin was last seen on her walk across campus, you retrace her steps.

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To Be Happy, Through a Twist Of Human Hard Wire.” It’s a succinct snapshot of that age-old conundrum, nature over nurture. Richard Friedman of Cornell University Medical Center described a patient who admitted, “All my life I’ve been happy for no reason. It’s just my nature, I guess.” But, Friedman writes, “It was more than that. She was a happy extrovert, full of energy and enthusiasm — indefatigably sociable.” Its opposite is dysthymia, which affects at minimum three percent of American adults. Its sufferers experience little pleasure and wake each day with a dreary, pessimist outlook. No matter what good things come their way, they remain dispassionate: Their glass is not only half-empty; it is broken. Visit HappinessMinute.com for wisdom that makes sense, e.g., “If we want to be happy, we have to increase our exposure to positive inﬂuences and reduce our exposure to negative inﬂuences.”

New attitude: At Christmastime in 1990, Ketchian had an epiphany.

Don’t Worry — Be Happy Now, a support group for people who hope to turn that frown upside-down Joyce L. Faiola

he first time I attended a meeting of “The only really happy folk are married a Happiness Club, I kept sobbing so women and single men.” — H.L. Mencken I had to leave early. The Happiness “Happiness is the perceptual possession of Clubs throughout Connecticut do not being well deceived.” — Jonathan Swift serve cocktails nor are they “open mic” nights for unemployed comedians. They There are more than a dozen Happiness are gatherings of like-minded folks who Clubs in Connecticut. The father of these have mastered the art of happiness and is Lionel Ketchian, a warm bear of a man contentment. The knowledge of this often who, on Christmas Eve in 1990, committed illusive human condition is the centerpiece himself to being happy. “Happiness is of each meeting and is shared with folks a decision you make — then all your who have missed the boat and who are choices fall in line after that,” he observes. searching for a safe harbor or light: a heart “Unhappiness is behind the real reason light and a light heart. people do negative things.” He began the first club in Fairfield in January 2000. “Happiness: an agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of another.” Still in my files is a piece published in the — Ambrose Bierce Boston Globe back in December 2002, “Born 62

january 2008

Last month I had lunch with the facilitators of the Connecticut Happiness Clubs and it was a surprise (for me) to see so many smiling faces and to socialize with such well-adjusted types who didn’t even need a martini at lunch. I sat between (and gabbed with) Stacy Enyeart, a senior and peppy writer who heads the Westport Smiling Singles Club, and Jon Van Gorder, who handles the happiness Web site and blog. Every time I tried to complain about something (old habits die hard) they shut me down and soon I felt at peace. There are Happiness Clubs all over the U.S. and in Connecticut where folks of all ages show up. Find yours in Madison, Fairﬁeld, Greenwich, Bridgeport, Westport, Stamford and soon, a brand new Happiness Club is being formed in New Haven spearheaded by Allison Aboud Holzer (allisonaboud@gmail.com). Of all the information I reviewed on this subject, this 1957 jewel from psychologist Theodore Reik sums it up for me: “There are only two roads that lead to something like human happiness. They are marked by the words; love and achievement. The secret to human happiness is not self seeking but self forgetting.” Visit HappinessClub.com for meetings and info.v

The new Southern. Jun look at us now.

he big news at Southern lately is the stunning growth of our campus and facilities. But that's only part of the story. We have cutting-edge academic programs in the full range of disciplines that prepare our students for professional excellence and ethical leadership. Challenging programs that offer the chance to work closely with exceptional faculty members passionate about their fields. Like Dr. Christine Broadbridge, award-winning scientist and researcher in the exciting field of nanotechnology. And a dedicated Southern professor. The new Southern. A great story just gets better.

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SEACREST. Gracious RETIREMENT Living, RIGHT On Long I sland Sound.

Retirement living AT SeaCREST means independence and security, COMFORT AND COMPANIONSHIP. Seacrest Retirement Center is a luxury retirement center designed for older adults who may no longer be up to the demands of living on their own, but who want to enjoy an independent lifestyle that is also affordable. Residents’ medical needs are taken care of by qualified personnel who are on duty twenty-four hours a day to monitor our guests’ well-being. Specialized services are available for those with memory impairment. Seacrest rooms and suites are equipped with a nurse’s call station as well as televisions and telephones. Rooms are fully furnished – however, guests who want a touch of “home” may bring their own furnishings with them. Clients relax and entertain their families and friends in our beautiful lounges. Dining is an enjoyable experience in our gracious dining room. Special dietary requirements are accommodated. A full activities program is offered, transportation services are available. For more information, or to arrange a tour of Seacrest Retirement Center, please call 203-931-2510 or visit us at www.seacrestweb.com.

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