INNER-CITY NEWS

1IN

NE

R-C

ITY

NE

WS

Jun

e 2

7, 2

01

6 - Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

NEWSTH

E

Volume 21 No. 2191

New Haven, Bridgeport

FOLLOW US ON

Health TestsEveryBlack ManNeeds

Health TestsEveryBlack ManNeeds

9TH Annual National Sisters of Today and Tomorrow Leadership Conference for Girls

Our Young Black MenOur Young Black Men“FreeState ofJones”

“FreeState ofJones”

2IN

NE

R-C

ITY

NE

WS

Ju

ne

27

, 20

16

- J

uly

10

, 20

16

3IN

NE

R-C

ITY

NE

WS

Jun

e 2

7, 2

01

6 - Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

4IN

NE

R-C

ITY

NE

WS

Ju

ne

27

, 20

16

- J

uly

10

, 20

16

New Haven, Connecticut –What does a Preacher’s wife, aGold Medalist, a Police Commis-sioner, an Executive Director ofa Housing organization and theDirector of a Small BusinessAcademy all have in common?Sisters of Today and TomorrowLeadership Conference forGirls…

Thursday – Saturday, July 14-16, 2016, Sisters of Today andTomorrow (SOT), a nonprofit or-ganization developed to transformthe lives of girls and the womenwho raise them, will host its 9thAnnual National Leadership Con-ference for girls, in New Haven,Connecticut. Registration fee is$125pp (includes: morning and af-ternoon snack, lunch and confer-

ence materials).

The Conference will kick offThursday evening, July 14th, withSOT’s Summer Swanky Affair /Fundraiser at K2 New Haven, 27Temple St., sponsored byJacqueline James, Director ofthe Small Business Academy,City of New Haven and CarlaMorrison, Executive Director ofSisters of Today and Tomorrow.“The evening will include: goodfood (Asian style), music, empow-erment speeches and a silent auc-tion. Highlights: A soul renderingsinging performance by CT GemEbony, and keynote address fromGold Medalist, turned Coach Al-exandria Givan. “The music willbe provided by Herman Ham ,who never disappoints, and spe-

SISTERS RISE: WHY WE MATTER9TH Annual National Sisters of Today and Tomorrow Leadership Conference for Girls

cial guest through-out the evening,all New Haven Public Schoolsalumni, that have gone on to doexceptional work in their field,”says Carla Morrison, Organizer ofthe Conference.

Friday, July 15th will include afull day of workshops, includingself-esteem building conducted byMayor Aide Maya Welfare;“Lunch with a Leader”, presentedby Dr. Karen DuBois-Walton ofNew Haven Housing Authority,“Express Yourself through Writ-ing”, facilitated by Radio Legend/Journalist Michelle Turner &Editor Babz Rawls Ivy, “VisionBoard Creation” facilitated byWest Haven Police Commis-sioner Deborah Busch Wright,“Dress for Success” workshop

with Celebrity Stylist TanishaBundy, “Health & Wellness” pre-sentation from Yale New HavenHospital and the powerful SistersCircle facilitated by SocialWorker(s) Ericka Fields andTanisha Bundy.

Saturday, July 16th is “SOT’sMommy, Mentor & Me Day”,where educator Tisha Welfarewill conduct a “Planting the Lead-ership Seed” workshop and (re-tired) psychologist BettyeMorrison will facilitate a SHAPEworkshop for both the mothersand mentors; While Dr. ChristinaCousin (first lady of BethelAME) will facilitate a “collegeprep” workshop for high schoolage girls and Actress TyquandaJohnson will facilitate a “creativ-

ity” workshop for the youngergirls.

“We will come back togetherthrough a combined fitness work-shop lead by fitness guru /Zumba expert Chaila Gilliamsof Body Workers, LLC.,” saysCarla Morrison, Founder/ Execu-tive Director, SOT.

The conference will culminatewith a brunch and a surprise guestspeaker. “Later that same eveningSOT guest from Georgia and otherplaces will join us with our familyand friends on the green to enjoythe musical festivities.”

For more information, contactCarla Morrison, (404) 319-2130 orw e b s i t e :www.sistersoftodayandtomorrow.org

by DANIELA BRIGHENTI

Against an alternating backdropof pictures showing grinningchildren, six graduating highschool seniors were left smilingthemselves after winningscholarships to help fund theirupcoming college studies.

The children in the picturesprojected to an audience of nearly100 are part of LEAP, thecommunity-based youthacademics and recreation programled by students at the high schooland college levels.

The ceremony held at GatewayCommunity College on Thursday

celebrated both the awardrecipients as well as all 24 highschool LEAP counselorsgraduating in the class of 2016.

The first two awards given out,at a total of $1,000 each, werefunded by the family of JayBovilsky for the 16th consecutiveyear. Essence Santos-Eden, fromJames Hillhouse High School, andKarahn Green, from Hill RegionalCareer High School, were therecipients of this year’sscholarships.

Executive Director of LEAPHenry Fernandez, who presentedthe two awards, praised Bovilskyfor his longtime commitment toLEAP and commended the two

students for their “long history ofacademic achievement.” In thefall, Santos-Eden will attendSouthern Connecticut StateUniversity; Green will attend JohnC. Smith University.

“Whatever you go on to do,think about how you can give backand contribute to the community,”Fernandez advised the soon-to-becollege students.

Following Fernandez, GregPepe took the stage to present fouradditional scholarships. Pepe is alawyer at the local firm Neubert,Pepe & Monteith, P.C. This is thethird year the has presented four$2,500 scholarships to outstandingLEAP students. His wife, Ann

Counselors Given Scholarships To LEAP To SuccessBaker Pepe, currently serves asLEAP’s board chair.

This year’s recipients wereDenaysia Silva, Autumn Thomas,Ken’Nia Threatt, and LaurenWhite. All four plan on attendingcollege next fall.

“LEAP has been a big, big factorin my life,” Thomas said.“Growing up in a single parenthome, having no money. It isn’teasy. You don’t get things like thisvery often.”

The batch of student applicantsfor the scholarship wasparticularly competitive this year,Pepe noted. He highlighted thatthe students chosen all presented

exemplary academicachievements, and that he “looksforward to tracking [their]progress.”

In addition to presenting thefour awards, Greg Pepe spoke tohis audience about New Haven’sspecial sense of community. Hereceived his law degree from thenearby University of Bridgeport,and holds multiple communitypositions in the Elm City.

“At a law firm, you see theeffect of community on thepeople,” Pepe said. “Our hope isthat as you become leaders, youwill use your education to be a partof that community.”

5IN

NE

R-C

ITY

NE

WS

Jun

e 2

7, 2

01

6 - Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

John P. Thomas Jr.Publisher / CEO

Babz Rawls IvyManaging Editor

Liaison, Corporate Affairs

Doreen StrongAdvertising Director

Sales TeamTrenda Lucky

Delores AlleyneJohn Thomas IIIHilda Calvachi

Editorial TeamStaff Writers

Ratasha Smith / Current AffairsAnthony Scott / Sports

Arlene Davis-Rudd / Politics

Contributing WritersDavid Asbery

Tanisha AsberyJessica Carl

Jerry Craft/CartoonsBarbara Fair

Mubarakah IbrahimDr. Tamiko Jackson-McArthur

Michelle TurnerSmita ShresthaKam Williams

Content Contributors At-LargeChristine Stuart

www.CTNewsJunkie.com

Paul BassNew Haven Independent

www.newhavenindependent.org

Dr. Fred McKinneyGreater New England MinoritySupplier Development Council

www.cmsdc.org

MembershipsNational Association of

Black Journalist

National NewspapersPublishers Association

Greater New HavenChamber of Commerce

Greater New Haven Business &Professional Association

Greater New England MinoritySupplier Development Council, Inc.

The Inner-City Newspaper is publishedweekly by Penfield Communications,Inc. from offices located at 50 FitchStreet, 2nd Floor, New Haven, CT 06515.203-387-0354 phone; 203-387-2684 fax.Subscriptions:$260 per year (does notinclude sales tax for the in State subscrip-tions). Send name, address, zip code withpayment. Postmaster, send addresschanges to 50 Fitch Street, New Haven,CT 06515. Display ad deadline Fridayprior to insertion date at 5:00pm Adver-tisers are responsible for checking ads forerror in publication. Penfield Commu-nications, Inc d.b.a., “The Inner-CityNewspaper” , shall not be liable for fail-ure to publish an ad or for typographicalerrors or errors in publication, except tothe extent of the cost of the space in whichactual error appeared in the first inser-tion. The Publisher reserves the right torefuse advertising for any reason and toalter advertising copy or graphics deemedunacceptable for publication. The entirecontents of The Inner-City Newspaperare copyright 2012, Penfield Communi-cations, Inc. and no portion may be re-produced by any means without the writ-ten permission of the publisher.

by Babz Rawls Ivy, Editor-in-chief, Inner-City News.

Babz: 1) Ms Wright, “Lean In”was so grown woman fabulous,what was the inspiration for it? Itfelt very grown and sexy. Was thatthe point?

Lizz: Thank you. I was play-ing with a drum machine alongwith Jesse Harris after we had fin-ished a writing session early. I wasreflecting on the work of some ofmy favorite DJs in Brooklyn andAtlanta. I imagined writing a songto close a long night of dancing

with friends and this is what cameup.

Babz: 2) Who are you diggingright now? Who do you have onlistening rotation?

Lizz: When I am on the road Ilisten to everything new in sev-eral genres, but when I am athome all I want to hear is birdsongand the creek.

Babz: 3) Do you see yourselfdelving into more pop kinds ofmusic?

Lizz: I have moments of ro-manticizing about pop music, butas an artist I’m always going tofall for the focus and nuances ofjazz and the emotion and vulner-ability of gospel. They’re like thatsweet old pair of tattered jeansyou refuse to toss because of the

fit.

Babz: 4) What kinds of songsare on your wish list? Songs thatfolks would be surprised youwould like?

Lizz: Perhaps I’m a bit indul-gent l, because I sing every singlething I want to. There’s nothingleft on the wish list. What a funnyrealization! Gee..

Babz: 5) Do you watch any ofthe reality song competition/talentshows? If yes, which ones?

Lizz: I don’t watch tv, but userentals and the Internet to catch up.Still, no reality talent shows forme! I find them incrediblystressful. As a singer you can tracethe sound of the voice back intothe body to feel what the physicalexperience behind the sound is. I

feel too much muscle use and somuch nerves. I’m way toosensitive to enjoy thesekinds of shows.

Babz: 6) We know you are anamazing singer, what else is LizzWright into artistically?

Lizz: Thank you! I love tocook, to write essays, produceshows and to design. Mypurse always carries amicrophone, a design orfood maggy and a journal.

Lizz Wright will be performingat the Ridgefield Playhouse,Saturday June 25, 2016 8:00 pm.For ticketswww.ridgefieldplayhouse.org

The new cd is Freedom &Surrender www.lizzwright.net

6 Question Encounter: Lizz Wright

6IN

NE

R-C

ITY

NE

WS

Ju

ne

27

, 20

16

- J

uly

10

, 20

16

by William Spivey

You were there at his birth. Youraised him as a child. And now hehas become a man and father. AsFather’s Day approaches. The truegift is being able to live vicariouslythrough one’s children. I have twodaughters’ and a daughter-in-lawas well. They all three are out-standing mothers, putting all thatthey are into their seven total chil-dren, all girls. Perhaps onMother’s Day I will discuss them,but today I speak on my son... thefather.

I watch him now in the sameway I observed his soccer gamesin his youth. While his mother wasscreaming, «That’s my baby!» Iwas normally quiet, yet watchinghis every move. He was anoutstanding soccer player,generally the leading scorer on histeams. He had size, strength andspeed. Most importantly he hadcharacter.

He generally played over his agegroup which called for him todemonstrate a little more maturitythan he otherwise would have.That didn’t stop him from beingjust a kid sometimes. In one rainygame there was a huge puddle inone area of the field and during apause in action, he jumped andstomped with both feet in themiddle of the puddle sprayingwater everywhere. I willencourage his children to do thesame.

He was always responsible.Headstrong at times, he could notbe punished into compliance, ittook negotiation. At various timesduring his childhood he had to begiven privileges back so thatsomething could be taken away.Even in those times he wasrespectful and soft spoken. Iremember thinking, one day you’llhave children and you’ll see! Henow has children.

Somehow, seemingly instantly.He gained a maturity I know Ididn’t exhibit at that age. He wastall, athletic and handsome (he’sstill all three) yet he provedcapable of self-control in anenvironment with options. Hehandled himself well in

relationships and learned frommistakes much more quickly thanhis father.

I first met his future wife as Iwas taking my youngest daughterto college in New Orleans, passingthrough Tallahassee where my sonwas in college. We met at arestaurant and he brought hisgirlfriend along so that we couldmeet. He and his sister were asclose as any two people in life andthey spent that lunch almostexclusively in conversation witheach other to the exclusion of theother two present. The siblingslove each other dearly still, but

now his wife is in the lead place.Along with his children.

I remember the day he came todinner and asked if he could seeme privately. We went into anotherroom and he explained that he wasready to take a wife and wantedmy blessing. He talked of howthey loved each other even whenthey had nothing, and he wascertain their love would only growstronger. He was logical, conciseand confident. I gladly blessed theunion with no regrets then or now.

Then came the time, theyannounced a child was on the way.It was slipped into the middle of

conversation and they watched asthe news sunk in. I was notworried that he was ready for theresponsibility because that wasperhaps his greatest strength. Hewas to become a father.

One day in late November, a callcame that they were headed to thehospital. It was way too early, thebaby was premature. My ownexperience with prematurechildren was mixed. I was apremature baby though one wouldnever suspect it to see me now.Another child of mine that wouldhave been a girl didn’t live.Attempts were made to delay thebirth as long as possible to givethe baby a chance but to no avail.Both of these were on my mind asI went to the hospital, determinedto be there either way.

Family gathered and in thewaiting room. My son was mostlyback with his wife as doctors weremaking decisions as to how toproceed. Their child was furtheralong than the one I lost and thereweren’t the deep concerns aboutlife and death but they wereconcerned about development ofthe lungs and wanted to delay thebirth also. Ultimately, not longbefore Thanksgiving, a smallhealthy baby girl was born. Shespent her first days mostly in anincubator. The baby stayed in thehospital for a couple days aftermother was released. They resistedthe urge to kidnap their child andwere finally able to bring herhome. My son was now a father.

I watched him as a father in thesame way I watched him playsoccer. I didn’t tell him what to dobut if asked would offer myopinion. Fatherhood was a moresevere test of character than soccerever was. It, like other thingsdoesn’t create character, it revealsit. Having a child is a test ofpatience and priorities. It’s acombination of love, fears,frustrations and incrediblerewards. He and his wife havehandled them all well. I’m sure notwithout growing pains but loveand faith in God is seeing themthrough. Several months later, inthe midst of another unrelatedconversation. An announcement

about a new impending birth wasmade. This one went with lessdrama and soon two girlsdominated their household.

My son and his wife have foundtheir own way regarding how theyraise their children. They have apartnership with roles. They eachsacrifice in different ways. If hewere to come to me and ask as heused to after his soccer games,«What do you think?» I wouldrespond as follows:

1. Embrace every moment:For all the things you’re strivingfor. The business you’re startingand plans for your family. Don’tlet the small moments with yourchildren pass you by. They go soquickly. Fatherhood is more thanthe responsibility you carry sowell. It is also joy. Each hug, eachtime those girls run to greet you.Remember it all because thosetimes are as important as themilestones.

2. Maintain your ownidentity: In addition to the rolesyou have taken on as father andhusband. There must be room tobe you. Maintain some separateinterests, friendships, and familyrelationships. A heightened senseof self will allow you to be betterat the roles that if allowed woulddefine you.

3. Make time for yourmarriage: Work, children andother responsibilities willconsume 100% of your time ifallowed. At least one of yourbabysitters, see’s those times notas a burden but as an opportunityso feel free to call.

I have no further advice. You’redoing just fine on your own.Parent’s want better for childrenthan they had for themselves. Theywant their children to not only dowell but be well. You have becomea wonderful man and Father. I’mvery proud. Happy Father’s Day!

Dad

William Spivey is a writer, andblogs atEnigmaInBlack.wordpress.comHe happily lives in Orlando,Florida. He is the the proud Fatherof three grown children and agrandfather of 7.

When Your Son Becomes a FatherWhen Your Son Becomes a FatherWhen Your Son Becomes a FatherWhen Your Son Becomes a FatherWhen Your Son Becomes a Father

7IN

NE

R-C

ITY

NE

WS

Jun

e 2

7, 2

01

6 - Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

by PAUL BASS & QI XU

Anticipating that they won’t getextra time to solve a new prisonerlock-up challenge, New Havenpolice are looking to the suburbsfor help as one of severalalternatives to returning to the“prisoner management business.”

Police Chief Dean Essermanspoke about that Tuesday nightwhile updating the Board of PoliceCommissioners about thedepartment’s response to thedecision by the state JudicialDepartment to cease operating theprisoner detention facility at 1Union Ave. as of July 1 becauseof budget cuts.

The city has been scrambling tocome up with a plan for housingprisoners after arrests. Both NewHaven and Hartford, which facesthe same challenge, have asked thestate to delay the move for up tosix months so they have more timeto plan.

It appears likely that the statewill not say yes, Esserman toldcommissioners at their monthlymeeting Tuesday night at policeheadquarters.

So in the short term, if thatanswer indeed comes back as no,the department will have to staffthe lock-up on its own with cops.

Looking long term, the city doesnot want to return to the “prisonermanagement” that the city turned

over to the state JudicialDepartment in 1993. Thedepartment wants to findalternatives.

Esserman met with Hamden andWest Haven police chiefsWednesday to discuss whether inthe short term New Haven canbook arrestees but transport themto excess space in those towns’lock-ups. They also discussedwhether the region longer termcould use a regional facility.

“These budget cuts by the state

are affecting local jurisdictionslike New Haven and themetropolitan region significantly”and are prompting regionalsolution-seeking, Esserman.

Operating the 1 Union Ave.lock-up on its own could cost NewHaven$2 million a year.

Before the meeting Wednesday,Hamden Police Chief ThomasWydra told the Independent thathe’s intrigued with the idea.

He’d have to run it by his mayorand other officials, but he’s in

City Looks To Burbs For Lock-Up Helptheory open to accepting prisonersat the modern facility his town hasbuilt and collaborating on regionalsolutions long-term, he said.

“I’m absolutely in favor ofhaving the conversation. I believethat prisoner management isanother area of many where weshould be looking to gainefficiency, reduce costs, throughregionalization,” Wydra said.

The Hamden detention facilityhas a total 20 cells for adult maleand female and for juvenilearrestees. Some days only a fewcells are occupied, according toWydra; other days as many as 15are.

Meanwhile, the New Havenassistant chief who had beenoverseeing the planning for thelock-up change, AnthonyCampbell, is being transferred toa new assignment, as assistantchief in charge of patrol. (He’sreplacing Al Vazquez, who retiredthis month as assistant chief incharge of patrol.)

Another possible solution is torestrict the source of prisoners.Currently the lock-up hosts peoplefrom southern Connecticut, YaleUniversity, Amtrak and MetroNorth. The department isconsidering whether to leave outthose agencies.

With an average of 15-20 arrestsevery day, assigning policeofficers to lock-up duties wouldexert great staffing pressure on the

department, he said.

“We are not going to stopmaking arrests.” Esserman toldcommisoners.

The state marshals have run thelock-up since 1993.

A plan to house prisoners at thestate jail on Whalley Avenueended up not proving feasible.Among other reasons, the facilityaccepts only male prisoners,which means female arresteeswould need to be transported to theprison in Niantic, Campbell saidlast week.

Campbell said that if the NewHaven department does end upoperating the lock-up, it wouldspend close to $40,000 a week, orclose to $2 million a year, to runthe lock up by employing 38-45officers on overtime weekly dutyto man the facility in six-personshifts. He said the understaffeddepartment has to rely on overtimebecause it has no officers to sparefrom regular duty.

Esserman opened Tuesdaynight’s meeting with an update onreaction to the mass shootingSunday in Orlando, Florida. Localpolice have been in touch with theFBI, which reported that noserious threats have surfaced inConnecticut. Esserman added thathis department has deployed moreforce to ensure safety during theInternational Festival of Arts &Ideas.

PAUL BASS PHOTO Hamden’s Wydra: Regionalization makes sense.

New Haven Independent

8IN

NE

R-C

ITY

NE

WS

Ju

ne

27

, 20

16

- J

uly

10

, 20

16

by Isaiah Cave,

Hamden High class of 2016

For over 400 years the Blackcommunity has suffered from asyndrome that has passed fromgeneration to generation. Back inthe 1700’s, Willie Lynch was aslaveholder who said the besttechnique for “controlling yourBlack slaves” involved “fear, dis-trust, and envy.” His point wasthat favoring lighter skinnedslaves who looked more similarto White owners would encour-age divisions. As a result, Blackswould learn to dislike their “bad”hair or dark skin and even to lookdown on each other. Two centu-ries later, this lesson was still be-ing taught when Malcolm Littlestraightened and dyed his hair redto fit White standards of beauty.Even more recently, Chris Rockproduced the movie “Good Hair”to open his daughter Lola’s eyesto the value of her own hair.

Long ago, Lynch promised thatfostering divisions would keepthe black community in check bytearing apart their unity andfamilies. Sadly, the ideas of WillieLynch still have an impact today.African Americans are no longerin physical shackles, but some ofus remain imprisoned mentally.

Too often, the AfricanAmerican father is not recognizedas an important presence in hischildren’s lives. In today’s societyBlack children are stereotyped asfatherless children. By contrast, aCDC report on fathers’involvement with their childrenshowed that, compared withWhite or Hispanic fathers, Blackfathers who live with theirchildren are more likely to eatmeals with, bathe, dress, diaper,or toilet their children. In addition,they take their children to or fromactivities every day, and helpolder children with homework.(Jo Jones & William Mosher,2013)

Making amends for the harmsinflicted by enslavement is nosimple task. Money by itself isjust a temporary fix, not apermanent solution. Realrestitution is supporting familiesand making job opportunities.This means creating better livingconditions in housing projects. Itmeans finding other methods ofdiscipline than jail so that youngmen are not pulled out of theirfamilies and their community. Itmeans providing role models andsafe activities for children toparticipate in after school orduring the summer. It meanspromoting work experiences andentrepreneurship. This kind ofrestitution will not only benefitthe Black community but it is amodel that can work for others aswell.

Restitutionby STAFF

Proud fathers, uncles, father fig-ures, along with members ofOmega Psi Phi Fraternity and theNew Haven Police Departmentpacked two kindergarten class-rooms at Edgewood MagnetSchool in celebration of Father’sDay and a very special event en-titled, “Donuts for Dads Day.”

“Dads Make a Difference” wasthe message shared at the Fridayevent, as the students built specialprojects with their fathers.

Each father went home withunique gifts: a handmade tie and aself portrait created by theirchildren.

Inspired by President Obama’sFatherhood initiative, members ofthe fraternity and policedepartment celebrated with thefathers and came to the schooltoday to stand in the gap ascommunity leaders and male rolemodels for fathers who could notattend the celebration due to workor other circumstances.

Kindergarten teacher MichellePaulishen said this year’s eventwas the best ever. “Fathersinvolvement is essential in ourschools. I was so pleased to see somany dads participate today.Seeing the smiles on my students’faces, while their dads spentquality time in our classroommade the day a complete success.And it made me feel good as ateacher knowing we have

outstanding parent and communityinvolvement.”

“President Obama made apledge and our fraternity hasjoined him by making a pledgethat we’ll do everything we can tobe there for our children and foryoung people whose fathers arenot around. The turnout here todayat Edgewood was soencouraging,” said Glen Worthy,president of the Omegas and the

Donuts For Dad

DANIELA BRIGHENTI PHOTO Awardee Karahn Green wins with LEAP’s Fernandez.

new principal of Hillhouse HighSchool.

The Omegas also have areading program for boys ages 6-12 held twice a month in the WestRiver Community.

Edgewood Magnet’s “Muffinsfor Moms Day” was just assuccessful. School leaders plan toadd other innovative programs toencourage and increase parentinvolvement.

by Christine Stuart

The Department of Motor Ve-hicles will start sending out late feenotices this week to customerswith overdue emissions tests.

The late fee notices stopped lastAugust when the DMV underwenta computer upgrade, which causednumerous problems for theagency. The agency has since

DMV Will Start Sending Out Late Fee Notices for Overdue Emissionsended its contract with the vendorresponsible for creating and in-stalling the new computer system.

The first wave of late fee noticeswill cover about 200,000 vehicles.However, it’s still unclear, accord-ing to DMV officials, how manynotices should be sent.

“We are in the process of doinga more extensive review ofcompany and organization files todetermine that number,” William

Seymour, DMV chief of staff,said. “It will be set in a later phaseof this project. We wanted to startthis initial mailing right away withthe identified vehicles.”

The DMV said customers willget a bill for each late vehicle,regardless of whether they stillown it. The bills is based onownership at the time theemissions test was due.

Customers will get a bill if they

did not have an emissions test onthe vehicle. The vehicle had thetest more than 30 days past the duedate or the vehicle failed anemissions test and the owner didnot have the vehicle retestedwithin 60 days.

The late payment fee is $20 pervehicle.

DMV officials said they delayedsending the notices until they

converted all the information fromthe old computer system over tothe new computer system. Thelevel of confidence in the data,according to the DMV, is greaternow than it was several monthsago.

Customers are able to payonline, at a branch or through themail starting on Thursday, June 23.

9IN

NE

R-C

ITY

NE

WS

Jun

e 2

7, 2

01

6 - Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

10

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S J

un

e 2

7, 2

01

6 -

Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

by MARKESHIA RICKS

Newhallville neighbors arefiguring out how to fight crimewithout fighting each other, andthey have a new top cop to help.

That was the upshot of a hearingTuesday night of the Board ofAlders Public Safety and HumanServices committee at City Hall.

Police Chief Dean Essermansaid with input of Newhallvilleleaders and neighbors, he willappoint Sgt. Shafiq Abdussabur asthe new district manager forNewhallvile and East Rock.Abdussabur is taking the reinsfrom recently retired Lt. HerbSharp, who built strongrelationships with neighborsduring his three years as districtmanager. Abdussabur, a citynative, has a he year.php»longhistory of involvement incommunity youth anti-violenceprograms.

City Youth Director JasonBartlett told alders at the hearingthat Abdussabur plays a key rolein helping to implement x.a $1million U.S. Department of Justice“Byrne Criminal JusticeInnovation” grant New Havenwon to enlist neighbors in thequest of making Newhallvillesafer over the long term.

The hearing was held to updatealders on how that money is beingspent, after an initial period offactional fighting about it in theneighborhood. The grant aims toenlist cops and neighbors inlonger-range planning to tackle theroots of crime, not just chase afterincidents.

Bartlett said that the planning

phase of the grant including thehiring of a project manager, ArthurEdwards, is nearly complete, andthe implementation phase isexpected to get underway nextmonth. The new district managerwill work with Edwards to furtherdevelop community policingefforts in the neighborhood andtackling neighborhood crime hotspots.

He told alders that Sharp hadbeen an integral part of theplanning for the police side of thegrant because the neighborhoodtrusted him; he said it had beenimpressed upon Esserman that hisreplacement be made soon and besomeone the community wouldtrust.

Until recently, mistrustcharacterized much of thediscussion around the city’sdecision to pursue a grant thatspecifically focused on reducing

crime in Newhallville. The threealders who represent NewhallvilleDelphine Clyburn, BrendaFoskey-Cyrus and AlfredaEdwards were staunch critics ofthe city’s pursuit of the grantwithout input from thecommunity.

Bartlett said that theestablishment of a governancecommittee for the grant thatincludes not only the alders butmembers of the NewhallvilleManagement Team and otherneighbors has brought manycritics around.

Alder Foskey-Cyruscommended Bartlett and Edwardsfor the work they’ve done in thelast seven months to bringmembers of the community to thetable and to use the money toaddress the problems thatcommunity members have saidthey care about including

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO Edwards, Bartlett at Tuesday night’s Byrne grant hearing.

Newhallville Feels The “Byrne”

investment in youth andcommunity organizations.

Edwards said members of thegovernance committee agreementdon’t always agree, but morepeople are coming to the tablesince the establishment of thecommittee.

On Tuesday, alders got their firstlook at the city’s revised plan forthe grant.

Bartlett said Newhallville willhave its own YouthStat that willhelp identify at-risk students. Thecity has used its citywideYouthStat process bringingteachers, social workers, cops,probation and parole workers intoone room to review individualstudents’ cases and come up withplans to help them avoid violence.

“We will continue to haveYouthStat for the whole city,”Bartlett said. “But we want to takethis best practice and drill it down

to the neighborhood.”

Project Manager Edwardsdescribed plans to get youthinvolved with creating a “learningblock” adjacent to the FarmingtonCanal. He spokoe also of installingsecurity cameras to make the canalsafer. The Hamden part of the trailhas cameras that police haveaccess to and use to help keep thetrail safe. But that cameracoverage drops off in New Haven,he said.

The project will provide fundingto several organizations inNewhallville that will providementoring programs and otheractivities to keep youth engaged.Those organizations include: theChristian CommunityCommission Promise Landinitiative ($5,000); the GreaterNew Haven Clergy Association($5,000); NAFI Youth and PoliceInitiative ($10,000); NewhallvilleNeighborhood Corp. ($2,500); andThe Perfect Blend MentoringProgram ($6,000).

The governance committee forthe grant will also have $23,000to give out in competitive minigrants to community projectsaimed at addressing hot-spot crimeareas and building communityconsensus.

Beaver Hills Alder BrianWingate said the success of thegrant for him will boil down toprogramming. He said there are alot of historical pressures on theneighborhood that have resulted init being left behind.

“Programs are most essential,”he said. “What we’re talking aboutis changing the culture.”

New Haven Independent

11

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S Ju

ne

27

, 20

16

- July

10

, 20

16

Film Review by Kam Williams

Back in high school, Calvin(Kevin Hart) was voted „MostLikely to Succeed“ while hischubby pal Bob (DwayneJohnson) was being bullied byclassmates because of his weight..But that was a couple of decadesago, and a lot has changed sincethen.

Today, we find Calvin wonder-ing whether he might have peakedduring his glory days at CentralHigh when he and his childhoodsweetheart Maggie (DanielleNicolet) were voted HomecomingKing and Queen. Yes, the two didmarry, but the relationship’s beenso rocky she’s currently insistingthey enter therapy. Things are evenworse for Calvin at his accountingfirm, where he’s just been passedover for a promotion to partner.

By comparison, Bob’s fortuneshave improved immeasurably overthe intervening years. He’s notonly shed all that unwanted baby

fat but he’s re-sculpted himselfinto a veritable Adonis by pump-ing iron a half-dozen hours a day.Furthermore, he’s flourishing in anenviable career as a crack CIAAgent well-versed in the tools ofinternational espionage.

The pair’s paths cross for thefirst time in years at their 20th high

Central IntelligenceSuave CIA Agent Enlists Assistance of Nerdy Accountant in Odd Couple Comedy

school reunion where Calvin isimpressed by both Bob’s new phy-sique and his daring line of work.So, it’s no surprise that the suavespy is able to enlist the jaded pen-cil pusher’s technical assistance onhis latest assignment. He alsocould use a little help apprehend-ing the assassin who murdered his

partner (Aaron Paul).

That’s the point of departure ofCentral Intelligence, an unlikely-buddies comedy directed byRawson Marshall Thurber (We’rethe Millers). Kevin Hart hasproven himself quite the master ofthe genre, given the success ofsuch box-office hits as The Wed-

ding Ringer, Get Hard and RideAlong 1 and 2, to name a few.Unfortunately, Kevin and co-starDwayne Johnson fail to generateany chemistry, despite sharing thescreen in scene after scene of sillyslapstick.

The bulk of the picture’s pa-thetic attempts at humor revolvearound contrasting buff Bob’sbravery with weak-kneed Calvin’scowardice. But sadly, the laughsare few and far between duringthis decidedly-underwhelming ac-tion-adventure.

Too bad whoever directed thepromising trailer probably didn’tdirect the movie.

Fair (1 star)

Rated PG-13 for violence, sexu-ality, nudity, crude humor andbrief profanity

Running time: 107 minutes

Distributor: Warner BrothersPictures

By Joan H. Allen,

NNPA News Wire Contributor

June 19, 2016 marks WorldSickle Cell Day. In a desire to helpcreate a greater awareness ofsickle cell disease (SCD) and in-crease their efforts to find a cure,Pfizer invited members of theBlack Press to meet and discusswith key members of their raredisease medical and managementstaff the state of (SCD) and theirsearch for a cure.

It is estimated that sickle celldisease (SCD) affects approxi-mately 100,000 Americans and 1out of 365 Blacks in the UnitedStates, according to the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention.About 1 in 13 Blacks are born withsickle cell trait (SCT).

Sickle cell disease is one of themost prevalent genetic disorders

in the U.S. It is a rare and debili-tating chronic disease with life-long clinical impact and reducedlife expectancy; life expectancy is48 years for females and 42 years

for males with sickle cell disease.

There are more than 100,000people in the U.S. living withsickle cell disease, and many ofthem experience multiple vaso-oc-

clusive crises each year. Thesepainful crises result in more than75,000 hospitalizations per year inthe U.S., with an average hospitalstay of approximately six days.

Niesha Foster, the senior direc-tor and corporate affairs lead forPfizer’s inflammation, immunol-ogy and rare disease unit, intro-duced the participants who sharedwhy they’ve been so devoted tocreating greater awareness about(SCD), and the opportunitiesavailable to assist those thatstruggle with this debilitating dis-ease.

Sonja Banks, the CEO of theSickle Cell Disease Association ofAmerica, Inc. (SCDAA) sharedhow alarmed she was to learn in2010 that “in a hundred years ofdiscovering the sickle cell disease,only one FDA drug had been

approved and it wasn’t even forsickle cell. It was just as heartwrenching then, as it is now, toknow that our people are stillgoing to hospitals as their medicalhome. Why don’t we have a cure?”

Pfizer’s Chief Medical OfficerDr. Freda Lewis-Hall recalled thejoy she initially felt interning atHoward University Hospital aftergraduating from medical school,but when she attempted to ease thepain of a toddler living with sicklecell, that joy was replaced with anoverwhelming sense of futility.

“I heard an unbelievablepiercing sound from a toddler in asickle cell crisis,” said Lewis-Hall.“I tried to hydrate her and providesome pain relief…It was at thatmoment that I realized how

Pfizer Officials Call for Blacks to Participate in Sickle Cell Disease Clinical Trials

Joan H. Allen is the host of INSIDE NEW YORK and an editor at the Daily Challenge. Checkout INSIDE NEW YORK via livestream at MNN.org. Follow Joan on Twitter @ArtsInNewYorkand Facebook for program updates, giveaways and promotional offers.

Con’t on page 29

12

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S J

un

e 2

7, 2

01

6 -

Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

by MARKESHIA RICKS

A New Haven-based pharma-ceutical company is bullish on cur-ing rare diseases and bullish onNew Haven.

The company, Achillion Phar-maceuticals, cut the ribbonWednesday on the recent expan-sion of its headquarters at 300George St.

Achillion, which focuses on de-veloping drugs for patients withrare diseases such as paroxysmalnocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH)and C3 Glomerulopathy (C3G),has been in the building since itstarted operations in 1998. In fact,it was the first tenant after a de-veloper renovated it folowing thedeparture of the phone company.

Over the years the company hasgrown from about a dozen em-ployees to more than 80. Presidentand CEO Milind Deshpande saidexpanding the headquarters to

more than 40,000 square feet of of-fice and lab space in the buildingallows the company to continuegrowing. Last year the companyentered a partnership with Johnson& Johnson to develop the next gen-eration of treatments for the hepa-titis C virus.

“As many of you know, our realstrength is our discover efforts,”Deshpande told the crowd gath-

Achillion Pharmaceuticals Expands

ered to celebrate Wednesday’s rib-bon cutting. “All the compoundsthat we are programming ... havebeen discovered at Achillion. Wehave an excellent team of scien-tists and developers and all thestaff that manages the business.”

The increased footprint at 300George St., Deshpande said, willallow the company to expand byabout 20 percent. He said his chief

financial officer likes to remindhim that every biotech job thecompany creates it adds about$600,000 to Connecticut’seconomy. Achillion tapped localarchitects from Svigals+Partnersto design the space.

“We look forward to the manygreat things being accomplishedin the very near future,”Deshpande said.

Catherine Smith, statecommissioner of economicdevelopment, said Achillion’sexpansion a “Good Housekeepingseal of approval” on the state’sstrategy of growing its biosciencescluster.

“To see a company that’s livingthat strategy and showing that it’spossible and really identifying andbuilding upon the strengths thatConnecticut is offering is reallygratifying,” she said. “Thebiosciences industry is no strangerto the state. It’s been here a longtime. But what is exciting is the

new energy and life being builtinto it.”

Smith said the state is addingmore workers regularly to advancescience fields such as bioscience,genetics and genomics and in factalready has 24,000 working inthose fields.

MIke Piscitelli, New Haven’sdeputy economic developmentadministrator, called the expansiona significant milestone forAchillion and the city’s efforts toattract advanced sciencecompanies.

“It’s very significant forAchillion as another knowledge-based, high science company inthe city advancing in their sector,so that speaks to the strength ofAchillion,” he said. “It speaks tothe in that the the bioscienceecosystem continues to grow andcluster in and around this part ofdowntown, near the hospital, themed school and the train station.”

by Christine Stuart

It’s still unclear after U.S. Sen.Chris Murphy’s nearly 15-hourfilibuster what version of the twoamendments Republicans in theU.S. Senate will raise, but thatdidn’t matter too much Thursdaymorning.

Murphy stood his ground, notleaving the U.S. Senate floor for14 hours and 50 minutes in aneffort to get the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate to raiseamendments to close the terror gapand expand background checks forfirearm purchases.

Murphy and his colleagues inthe Senate who helped him wagethe filibuster held an hour-longnews conference Thursdaymorning with family members ofvictims from the South Carolinaand San Bernadino, Calif.shootings to discuss their reasonsfor the filibuster.

“I’m glad we’re on a pathforward to get votes on these two

amendments,” Murphy said.

He said at the beginning of theweek they didn’t know whetherthey would have any debate or anyvote on these issues.

“Now we believe we’re on apath to get folks on the record and

Democrats In Congress Claim Momentum In Gun Control Debate

SCREENGRAB FROM SENATE STREAM U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy

that’s a start,” Murphy saidThursday.

A spokesman for SenateMajority Leader MitchMcConnell, R-Ky., told theWashington Post early Thursdaymorning that votes can be

expected on amendments to thebill but that there is no formalagreement on what thoseamendments will be.

Efforts to come up with acompromise on the amendmentsseemed to fall short Wednesday.

However, U.S. Sen. CharlesSchumer, D-N.Y., said he’sencouraged by the fact that for thefirst time Republicans are“actually saying we ought to dosomething.”

He said the filibuster led byMurphy will force Republicans toanswer questions about where theystand on the issue.

“Whether they have the courageto buck the NRA and actually dosomething, instead of hidingbehind these wolf in sheep’sclothing proposals we’ll see,”Schumer said. “But at least they’refeeling the heat and the heat is onthem.”

An indication that the tide seemsto be shifting, as least as far as theterror gap amendment isconcerned, is presumptiveRepublican presidential nomineeDonald Trump’s tweet Wednesdayin which said he would be meetingwith the NRA to express his viewthat those on a terrorist watch listshould not be allowed to purchaseweapons.

Achillion President and CEO Milind Deshpande cuts the ribbon.

New Haven Independent

New Haven Independent

13

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S Ju

ne

27

, 20

16

- July

10

, 20

16

by DANIELA BRIGHENTI

After her father killed her mom,Veronica Austin drifted, droppedout of school, got in trouble.

She found her way back to aclassroom and then behind a bigwheel where she’s steering her owndestiny.

Today she drives an 18-wheelerfull-time for a living while owningher own mobile salon.

Austin told that inspiring storyTuesday to over 200 graduates ofthe school that helped her get backon track: the New Haven Adult andContinuing Education Center.

“You might relate to wanting tobe angry, to wanting revenge,”Austin told the graduates at their ayear-end awards ceremony. (Theofficial commencement ceremonyis Thursday evening.) “But I’mhere to tell you, you can do muchbetter. You can overcome.”

Austin grew up around PortseaStreet and Sherman Avenue in NewHaven. She was 8 years old whenher father murdered her mother,who had long suffered from the

husband’s domestic abuse.Following the drastic incident,Austin recalled, she lost her way.

“I did a lot of fighting, a lot ofweed because it was free,” Austintold the students. “I got bootedout of Wilbur Cross High School,and then also from Cross Annex.”

But she wanted to prove herself

Adult Ed Grad Returns With Diva Inspiration

DANIELA BRIGHENTI PHOTO Austin by her mobile salon outside the Adult Ed graduation.

to her family, who, according toAustin, thought she wouldn’tcome to anything because of herdark past. That is when she joinedAdult Ed in search of her highschool diploma.

Austin graduated in 2004, andwent on to get a fashion and designand merchandising degree at

Gibbs College in Farmington.Though she went through a fewstints in modeling, Austin decidedshe wanted a “real job.” She joinedthe New England Tractor TrailerSchool, which led her to where sheis today.

“Yes, I drive those big, bigtrucks,” Austin said. “So don’t

think just because it’s a male-dominated field, or any otherthing, that you can’t do it.Whatever you have your mind on,keep your mind on it. No one isgoing to do it for you.”

Her words of inspirationresonated with the studentspresent, who will soon themselvesgraduate from Adult Ed.

And four lucky studentsreceived an additional surprisefrom Austin: a complete makeoverin her mobile beauty salon, “Divason the Go Salon.”

Austin started the salon twoyears ago. She said her priority ismaking its services affordable toher community, which oftencannot always afford “the goodlife.”

The four winners included thewinners of this year’s “King andQueen” competition for thecenter’s senior dance, KevinMartinez and Denise Vallejo.

“I know I’m the one speakingto you here today, but I’m so proudof you all,” Austin said.

by MARKESHIA RICKS

Members of the Board of AldersBlack and Hispanic Caucusgathered at the Amistad Memorialto remember those for whom thegood news of freedom came twoand a half years late.

With singing, prayer and a littlespeechifying, the alders Fridaycommemorated Juneteenth, whichofficially falls on Sunday.

On June 19 151 years ago, menand women still enslaved in Texaslearned that not only was the CivilWar over, but they were free. Infact, they had free been since Jan.1, 1863, when the EmancipationProclamation went into effect.

Caucus co-chair and Hill AlderDolores Colon read the generalorder that was read on that fateful

Freedom Hailed For Juneteenthday in June heralding theirfreedom: “The people of Texas areinformed that in accordance witha Proclamation from the Executiveof the United States, all slavers arefree. This involves an absoluteequality of rights and rights ofproperty between former mastersand slaves, and the connectionheretofore existing between thembecomes that between employerand free laborer.”

Colon poignantly andemotionally tied the two and a halfyear delay of freedom for thoseenslaved in Texas the recent massshooting and killing of people at apopular LGBTQI night club inOrlando, Florida.

“They didn’t respectdifference,” she said of formerslaveholders, “just like that crazyperson in Florida didn’t respect

difference, didn’t see theirhumanity.”

Board of Alders PresidentTyisha Walker read a proclamationthat called the celebration ofJuneteenth “an opportunity toencourage self-development andrespect for all cultures and allcultural enrichment in thiscommunity.”

“We were slaves. That’s our pasthistory,” Walker said. “We’re notall the way free yet, in some ways,in my opinion. But we’re doingmuch better than we were, butwe’ve got to do better.”

Walker’s daughter, TenaiyaBaker, a student at QuinnipiacUniversity, said she too believesthat the country has come far butstill has more strides to taketoward true freedom for all people.

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker sings “Lift Ev’ry Voice And Sing”

New Haven Independent

New Haven Independent

14

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S J

un

e 2

7, 2

01

6 -

Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

by DAVID YAFFE-BELLANY

Harry Reddish committed an actof guerrilla gardening planting okraand kale seeds in a once-verdantNewhallville lot that has lain fal-low amid a dispute over land andwater rights.

The garden lot is on 4,700 squarefeet at the corner of Bassett andNewhall Streets.

Until the past year, the lot wasone of a host of thriving commu-nity gardens in the neighborhood.

What changed?

The answer begins with the ac-tions of a neighbor named LevonQuattlebaum.

Quattlebaum, who’s 83 years old,had tended the garden for more thantwo decades.

Last August, the New HavenLand Trust a local conservationgroup that leased the lot from thecity to convert it into a communitygarden cut off the water supply tothe plot after discovering thatQuattlebaum had used a hose tochannel water from the garden tohis own front lawn.

In May, the NHLT canceled itslease, transferring control of the siteto the New Haven government’sneighborhood anti-blight agency,the Livable City Initiative (LCI).

Another not-for-profit groupactive in the neighborhood,Neighborhood Housing Services(NHS), had sought to take over thelot to launch a new neighborhoodgarden project. It failed to winpermission from the city.

NHS Executive Director JamesPaley, whose agency hasrefurbished dozens of houses inNewhallville, said theneighborhood’s many communitygardens have put vacant land toproductive use, allowing residentsto participate in a collaborativeactivity that yields fresh produce ata low cost.

“It’s giving residents somethingthey can be proud of,” Paley said.“And it’s a lot less likely for [thelots] to be a dumping ground forpeople to throw trash if people areactively involved in gardening.”

Newhallville Alder Delphine

Clyburn has embarked on a freshattempt to work with neighbors likeReddish to restore the garden. Butthe water remains shut off, even asresidents begin planting newpatches of vegetables.

The story of the garden’suncertain future who controls theland, who plants the vegetables,

who uses the water offers a glimpseinto the internal machinations ofNewhallville politics.

Quattlebaum, a South Carolinanative who used to drivelawnmowers for a landscapingcompany, lives on Bassett Street,two houses down from the site ofthe garden. He has a small, well-cultivated front lawn three grassy

rectangles surrounding the porch.

For several months last year,Quattlebaum said, he used anunderground tap built for thecommunity garden to tend thosegreen patches, channeling the wateronto his lawn through a hose thatsnaked across his property.

Land Trust Director JustinElicker said he became aware of theissue last summer, when a water billfor the Bassett Street site came insignificantly higher than expected.

“Because of the higher water bill,we looked into the problem, andfound this evidence that the waterwas being taken off our site andused on some neighborhoodproperty,” Elicker said.

In an interview with theIndependent, Quattlebaumadmitted to using water from thegarden to tend his own lawn.

“I pay enough goddamn propertytaxes for me to use the water fromthere,” he said.

Elicker said NHLT staff membersvisited the Bassett Street plot“multiple times” to informQuattlebaum that he was stealingwater from the garden. But the hosestayed in place.

“We ended up shutting off thewater at the site,” Elicker said. “Wehad to make sure that we were beingresponsible with our resources.”

Quattlebaum said he does notregret taking water from the garden.

And he denied that the NHLTvisited him more than once.

“They didn’t keep sending nostaff members,” he said. “Theylying. If they came, they sure didn’tsee me.”

The NHLT gave up its lease inMay. The garden, which had falleninto disuse after the water stoppedrunning the previous summer, wascovered in weeds.

“We were not confident that thisgarden was accomplishing ourmission,” Elicker said.

According to Elicker, the NHLTplanned to hand the land over toNHS, which hoped to recruitresidents to help turn the plot backinto a community garden, until thecity stepped in to scuttle thearrangement.

In an email last Thursday, LCIDirector Frank D’Amore instructedthe NHS to “refrain from gardeningactivity” on the Bassett Street lot,citing “other plans” for the site.

Elicker said he was surprised thecity prevented the NHS from takingover the lot but added that hewould have cancelled the leaseregardless.

Clyburn, a former communityorganizer in the neighborhood, saidshe personally intervened to keepthe NHS from assuming control ofthe property.

“It’s something in thecommunity, so it’s for thecommunity. I believe thecommunity should have first choiceof using it,” she said. “Just because[the NHS] have been doing thingsin the neighborhood, should theyhave it?”

Clyburn added that she plans totransform the plot into a communitygarden tended by multipleresidents, just as the NHS proposed.Different groups of Newhallvilleneighbors affiliated with the NHS,with the local management team,and with a third organization (a“resiliency team”), have clashed onnumerous matters involving theneighborhood’s destiny, and vieweach other with distrust.

“It’s not as if we were sendingtroops of gardeners in there to work

Garden-Variety Politics Kills Veggies

DAVID YAFFE-BELLANY PHOTO Reddish at work.

Reddish and Clyburn on site this week.

New Haven Independent

15

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S Ju

ne

27

, 20

16

- July

10

, 20

16

by PAUL BASS

The football team would have toplay elsewhere. Constructionworkers would have to keep theirdistance. Because a rare mama kill-deer had settled on the renovatedBowen Field and wasn’t leavinguntil her chicks hatched.

The killdeer was spotted on the50-yard line at the beginning of thismonth. Along with four eggs.

It was spring training season forHillhouse’s football team.

Construction workers wereputting finishing touches on a $11.6million renovation of the field.

Officials informed them theycould not come close to thefledgling avian family becausetheir nests are protected by theMigratory Bird Treaty Act.

The parks departmentsummoned Ranger Dan Barvir tothe scene. He’d seen the colorfulkilldeers’ nest before. They likeopen fields in coastal community.Another killdeer had set up a nestby the soccer fields off Ella GrassoBoulevard. In previous yearsthey’ve occupied field space at

Southern Connecticut StateUniversity and at LighthousePoint Park.

And Barvir wasn’t surprised tosee the bird settled exactly at the50-yard line: “The reason shepicked the 50-yard line: It has thebest 360-degree view. So nothingcould sneak up. She put it on thelittle x mark that marks the exactmiddle of the field. It’s hilarious.”

Barvir told people that the

Mama Bird Claims 50-Yard Line

incubation period would last up to24 days, at which point the familywould fly away.

“These babies are born verymature. They immediately get upand run around,” Barvir told theIndependent. “They’re not bornlike other bird babies that arenaked and can’t see.” They’re upand moving around within a halfhour of hatching.

Fortunately, contractors had

completed work on Bowen Fielditself. They were in the bleachers.

Crew members from O&GConstruction did get close to thekilldeer at first, and were takenaback at the bird’s reaction. Theyasked Barvir if the bird posed athreat to them.

Not at all, Barvir responded.The killdeer was doing a typical“dance” to lure potential predatorsaway from the nest.

“When anything gets close,she’ll pretend she has a brokenwing. She’ll drag one wing acrossthe wind as though she’s injured.That’s supposed to elicit a chaseresopnse from the predator. Theygo after her. Away from the egg.When she’s a safe enoughdistrance, she flies away” back tothe nest.

With the area around the 50-yard line cordoned off, the footballteam, which practices on the fieldin the spring, held a scheduledscrimmage within 40 yards.

This week, the killdeer familyhad flown. No sign of the nestremained.

Up in the bleachers, Camputaro& Sons Excavating cement masonJulio Rivera was sorry to see thefield barren again.

“I miss it,” he said in betweenrubbing cement on the bleacherstairs. “I never seen one of thosebefore. I think it was a pretty one.”

“We build these things forcommunity support,” said theschool system’s chiefadministrative office, Will Clark.“Community comes in manyforms and feathers.”

by PAUL BASS

The employees of New Havengovernment’s small business de-velopment office learned theyhave a new temporary boss, whiletheir old boss negotiates an exitdeal.

Those were the latestdevelopments in the ongoing CityHall saga of Jackie James, theHarp administration’s small-business chief.

Small Business Academy andorganized the annual food truckfestival on Long Wharf. Her officeis responsible for carrying out oneof Mayor Toni Harp’s key goalsof creating jobs by promoting newsmall businesses, in part by

helping local people becomeentrepreneurs.

James has been embroiled inconflict with her supervisor,

PAUL BASS PHOTO James, second from left, and Nemerson, at right, at the June 6 labor hearing.

James On Leave; Exit Deal Being Finalized

Economic DevelopmentAdministrator MatthewNemerson, since she spoke out ata Board of Alders budget meeting

against the Harp administration’sproposed city budget for failingto fund a new administrativeposition she had requested. Thealders subsequently moved

money around the budget to fundthe position (which waseventually unfunded again).

James filed a harassmentcomplaint against Nemerson afterhe met with her and ordered herto tell alders to undo the decision.charged her in a letter withnumerous acts ofinsubordination; that became thesubject of a tense three-and-a-halfhour June 6 meeting in the city’slabor relations office to begin apossible termination process.

Since then, James and the cityhave been negotiating a possiblesettlement. They are reportedlynear a deal, with James possiblyreceiving up to a year in pay andmedical coverage in return for an

New Haven Independent

New Haven Independent

16

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S J

un

e 2

7, 2

01

6 -

Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

by PAUL BASS

Amid complaints about abusivebehavior and favoritism, the policeunion has decided to hold a “noconfidence” vote about Chief DeanEsserman’s stewardship of the de-partment.

Union members voted 39-12 ata mass meeting Wednesday nightto organize the no-confidencereferendum, according to localPresident Craig Miller.

Miller said Thursday the unionhas not yet set a time or place forthe vote.

“Many chiefs across the countrygo through no-confidence votes atsome time in their tenure,” ChiefEsserman told the IndependentThursday. “You can either learnfrom it or fight it. I’m going towork to learn from it.”

The request to hold the votestemmed from a union memberwho has been passed over forpromotion and been the subject ofdiscipline.

Then the idea of holding a no-confidence vote gained supportamong the rank and file, for abroader variety of reasons.

Miller said the reasons cited atthe meeting for holding a no-confidence vote included allegedfavoritism by Esserman inpromotions and discipline, as wellas an accumulation over years ofincidents in which Esserman hadlost his temper and insulted,humiliated, or otherwise verballyabused or made rude comments toboth high-ranking and rank-and-file cops as well as members of thepublic.

The best-known incident

involved Esserman’s reaming outand threatening an elderlyvolunteer Yale Bowl usher in 2014for not allowing him in a footballgame without a ticket. Mayor ToniHarp gave him a written reprimandfor that incident and warned himnot to repeat the behavior. Sincethen countless unreportedincidents have occurred, Millersaid. One recent incident involvedthe chief allegedly ordering aformer chief, William Farrell, outof a photo op at a ceremonyhonoring a fallen cop.

“It is an embarrassment how hedoes talk to the public in public”and berate officers and others infront of others, Miller said. “Someof his ranking guys he justdisrespects.”

Miller attributed a wave of php/archives/entry/miller_retirement/»retirements, including of somesenior cops, to the workplaceenvironment under Esserman:“They had enough of him.”

Miller said another controversy

behind the consensus to hold a voteis the ongoing disrepair of policecruisers some of which are literallyfalling apart while Essermanbought expensive new vehicles forhimself and other top brass.

He accused Esserman of usinginternal affairs as a “lynch mob”against out-of-favor cops andapproving “petty” discipline ofrookie cops without or instead ofoffering needed retraining.

New Haven police chiefs,including Frank Limon andNicholas Pastore, have faced no-confidence votes before. The voteagainst Limon in 2011 was 246-21. He left town soon after.Pastore, on the other hand, held on,even in the face of a violentweekend-long

“blue flu” sickout by whiteofficers angered at changes in thedepartment, and eventually builtsupport through the departmentand in the community.

This pending vote, however,comes amid broader pressures on

“There is a feeling within thecommunity and it is reflectedamong the Board of Alders thatpeople want increasedaccountability and transparencyfrom the chief and from thedepartment,” East Rock AlderJessica Holmes, who during lastweek’s debate insisted on adetailed discussion on theamendments before voting forthem, said Thursday.

On the other hand, crime hassteadily dropped over the nearlyfive years that Esserman hasserved as New Haven’s policechief. The department hasdeveloped effective partnershipswith state and federal lawenforcement agencies to tacklegang and gun violence. Thedepartment has won nationalaccolades for its approach tocommunity policing.

Board of Police CommissionersChair Anthony Dawson expressedhope Thursday that the problemsfacing the complaints aboutEsserman can be worked out.

“I’m working with the mayorand the other commissioners.We’re going to be taking a moreserious look at it. We need to belooking at it more in depth,”Dawson said.

“There’s a concern based onpeople’s style of doing business.You identify things and you try tomentor and coach it and do the bestyou can to put it back on track. Iam doing my best as chair to keepthis moving in the right direction,to take all that I’m hearing fromindividuals to talk to the variouspeople, whether it be the mayor’sstaff or the chief, to try to resolveit.”

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTO Esserman, center, besides Commissioner Dawson and Mayor Harp at May 11 announcement of falling crime rates.

Union To Hold No-Confidence Vote

Esserman.

The idea of holding the votefound support among differentfactions of the police departmentthat at other times find themselvesin opposition to each other.

And alders spent a good hourduring final deliberations over anew city budget last monthexpressing frustration overperceived longstanding disrespectand lack of accountability on thechief’s part. They passed a seriesof budget amendments requiringthe chief to provide more timelyspending information (especiallyabout overtime costs, which haveled to a current $870,000department deficit); and updateson t.org/index.php/archives/entry/lock-up/»plans for responding tothe pending abandonment by thestate of the 1 Union Ave. prisonerlock-up; and requiring the chief toshow up in person at alder hearingsto answer questions about hismanagement of the department.

New Haven Independent

17

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S Ju

ne

27

, 20

16

- July

10

, 20

16

by ALIYYA SWABY

Hillhouse High School seniorsleapt from their chairs and startedto dance when former PrincipalKermit Carolina took the podiumat their graduation Thursdayevening.

It’s been a long four years. Butthey see better days ahead forthemselves and their school.

The seniors had seen threeseparate principals and continuedin-house controversy sinceCarolina ran Hillhouse, with afourth principal on the way.

“I’m baaack!” Carolina calledout amid raucous applause.

The former principal of theschool, Carolina was summonedback as Hillhouse graduationspeaker just three days after GlenWorthy was announced as thenew principal in an overhaul of atop-heavy leadership structurefollowing a painful citywidedebate over how to fix problemsat the school.

Almost 300 seniors formedlong lines along the side of theFloyd Little Field House andacross the stage to grab diplomasand shake hands at the end of aschool year that united them inconflict and protest.

On stage Thursday, Carolinasaid he was “proud” of seniorsbecause they “endured toughtimes. When things were gettingtough at Hillhouse, I watched youfight.”

With two of the three principalsthis year sitting on stage behindhim, he led the crowd in a chant:“One principal, one school! Oneprincipal, one school!”

“I was extra proud of you forpushing that,” he said.

Carolina was the sole principalof Hillhouse for three years,before district leaders divided theschool into separate mini-academies and put a separateprincipal in charge of each one.

The students who graduated

Rocky Year Ends With Optimism

ALIYYA SWABY PHOTO Graduates dance their way to Carolina.

Thursday night were the mostvocal opponents of the change,arguing the academy system leftthem without adequate resourcesor support as their College andCareer Readiness Academy wasbeing phased out for the nextyear.

They were “forced together,”said English teacher and seniorclass adviser Rhonda Yeager.The conflict “created anatmosphere where they helpedeach other, stuck up for eachother. They’re closer than theywould be.”

They banded together to stopby Principal Zakiyyah Baker’soffice and ask for Carolina as thegraduation speaker. It wasn’t anorganized effort, said seniorOrlando Algarin, but theconsensus spread throughout theclass.

“I started with him sincefreshman year,” Algarin said.The switch to a three-principalstructure was “hectic.” This pastyear, most of his teachers didn’tknow how to use any of thecollege navigation programsrequired to fill out hisapplication. Instead, he went toevery teacher and cobbledtogether “bits and pieces” ofknowledge from each ultimatelyleading him to enlist in theNational Guard.

Following the form of a typicalgraduation speech, Carolina leftthe seniors with four concretepieces of advice: Have a visionfor who you want to be in theworld, find a circle of peoplemoving in the same direction, setgoals for yourself and create acabinet of advisers you trust.

Student speakers, too, vaguelyreferred to the challenges thatplagued their senior year, whichincluded a lack of supportapplying to colleges, broken andunavailable technology andisolation from the rest of thestudent body.

Senior class President IsheekaBruce rallied students to move

past the “rumors” and negativereputation of Hillhouse, whichare “not true. It was a greatschool to me. You shape yourhigh school experience, not theschool.”

And Principal Baker,designated the coordinatingprincipal earlier this school year,contrasted the graduates’ headyoptimism with their darkerfeelings almost a year ago.

“In August, many of you wereupset with the world ... You feltcheated,” she said. “You werenot happy campers on that thirdfloor.”

Some students in the audienceshook their heads, in agreementwith that characterization.

Baker went on to congratulatethem for moving past thoseproblems, for the fact that about85 percent were accepted to atleast one two- or four-yearcollege. They started and ended“at the top,” she said.

Baker will no longer beprincipal of Hillhouse. She isn’tsure where she’s going to be inthe fall. “Wherever I go, the kidswill be there,” she said.

She’s happy to see thatWorthy, the new principal, isfrom New Haven, like she is.“We were worried aboutsomeone coming in who doesn’thave a vision for our goals,” shesaid.

Like Carolina, Worthyattended Wilbur Cross HighSchool. He was principal of HillCentral School before beinghired to head adult education in2014.

Veteran teacher Jack Paulishenexpressed optimism about thefuture of the school with Worthy.

“We’re going to make it work.I’m happy with the choice,” hesaid. “Even though he went toWilbur Cross. We’ll forgivehim,” he joked.

Family members snap photos of their graduates.

MARKESHIA RICKS PHOTOS Union prez Miller (left); Esserman (at right).

New Haven Independent

18

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S J

un

e 2

7, 2

01

6 -

Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

Book from Thomas Nelson’s WPublishing Group contains inter-views and commentary from fam-ily and friends of the “TheEmanuel Nine”.

“We Are Charleston” also de-tails the deep history of the sto-ried Mother Emanuel Church andthe AME Denomination, showboth the power and the price offorgiveness their members havefaced through centuries of racism.

Charleston, SC — We AreCharleston – an essential, multi-layered exploration of the tragicevents experienced by SouthCarolina’s famed Mother Emanuel

“We Are Charleston,” A Comprehensive Account of Last Summer’s Tragic Events at South Carolina’s Mother Emanuel Church is Now Available

By Tatyana Hopkins

(NNPA/DTU Fellow)

The lawyers of wrongfullyconvicted Davontae Sanford saidit was clear from the beginningthat he was innocent and hisconfession was false.

Megan Crane, Sanford’s lawyer,said that “police practices that arewidely inappropriate forvulnerable juvenile suspects anda criminal justice system thatsystemically failed him at everystep of his process.” are largelyresponsible for her client’s nine-year imprisonment.

Sanford was wrongfullyimprisoned since age 14 for aquadruple homicide that occurredin 2007 on Detroit’s RunyonStreet.

According to Sanford’s legalteam, Sanford, who is blind in oneeye was approached by homicideinvestigators as they canvassed theneighborhood about midnight, justa few hours after the shooting inSeptember 2007. They said lawenforcement officials convincedSanford to go to the station to tellthem about information he mayhave had about the crime. Theofficers received permission fromhis grandmother to take him topolice headquarters forquestioning.

Just 14-years-old, Sanford was

picked up by police in his pajamas,was questioned for nearly 24 hoursover the course of two dayswithout a parent or lawyer present,according to his lawyers. On thesecond consecutive day ofquestioning, Sanford confessed onvideo to being involved in thehomicide. He subsequentlyentered a guilty plea in the middleof trial, once he realized hisdefense attorney was not going todo anything to defend him, saidDavid Moran, Sanford’s Lawyerand director of MichiganInnocence Clinic.

Crane said that after” bullyingand coercion” during the policeinterrogation, Sanford “just madesomething up” in order to gohome.

According to Crane, policefalsified evidence linking Sanfordto the crime, and suggested thatadmitting involvement in thecrime meant that he could gohome. Sanford’s confession was“a toxic combination of theinterrogation tactics that police useacross the country combined withvulnerabilities that are inherent toall kids and teenagers,” saidCrane, adding that many adults arealso vulnerable to the tactics thatare “developed for seasoned adultcriminals.”

Crane continued: “It was clearfrom the beginning that hisconfession made little to knowsense. It got far more wrong thanit did got right.”

Just 16 days after Sanford was

After Serving Nine Years in Prison for a Quadruple Murder He Didn’t Commit

Davontae Sanford Is Finally Freeconvicted, professional hitman,Vincent Smothers began insistingthat he was responsible for themurders in addition to eight others.

David Moran, the director of theMichigan Innocence Clinic at theUniversity of Michigan LawSchool, said that every detailprovided to police about the caseby Sanford was wrong. Accordingto Moran, Sanford misidentifiedthe number accomplices whenmatched against eyewitnesstestimony, misidentified the typesof guns used and the location ofhis alleged weapon and identifieda Coney Island restaurant closedfor renovations as the place heplanned the crime.

“Smothers on the other hand,told them all sorts of things theydidn’t know that turned out to betrue,” said Moran.

Smothers was able to providepolice with new details about thecrime that they later confirmedthrough further investigation suchas the location of a gun used in thecrime, suggesting that Smothers’confession was more likely to betrue.

In April 2015, the MichiganInnocence Clinic andNorthwestern’s Center onWrongful Convictions of Youth,headed by Moran and Cranerespectively, filed a Motion forRelief from Judgment highlighting

the detailed, corroboratedconfession by professional hitmanVincent Smothers to the RunyonStreet murders and the obviousunreliability of DavontaeSanford’s confessions, given theircomplete lack of corroborationand many inaccuracies. As a result,the Michigan State Policereinvestigated the murders. OnMay 20, 2016, the Michigan StatePolice provided the report to theWayne County Prosecutor’soffice.

On June 7, Wayne County JudgeBrian Sullivan ordered theimmediate release of the now 23-year-old after he served nearly 9years of a 37-to-90-year sentence.

“This is as clear a case ofmiscarriage of justice as we canever hope to see,” said Moran. “Itwas clear that this was a wrongfulconviction based on falseconfession.”

Tatyana Hopkins is a 2016NNPA “Discover TheUnexpected” journalism fellow.The “Discover The Unexpected”journalism fellowship program issponsored by Chevrolet. Check outmore stories by the fellows byfollowing the hashtag#DiscoverTheUnexpected onTwitter and Instagram. Learnmore about the program atnnpa.org/dtu.

Church last summer – has beenreleased through the W Publish-ing Group, an imprint of ThomasNelson.

The book, written by SouthCarolina-based writers HerbFrazier (award-winning journalistand childhood member of MotherEmanuel), Dr. Bernard EdwardPowers (AME Church memberand professor of history at theCollege of Charleston) andMajory Wentworth (SouthCarolina’s Poet Laureate), is basedon extensive interviews with fam-ily and friends of “The EmanuelNine” – the church members who

lost their lives on June 17, 2015,when a young white man openedfire on a prayer meeting at thechurch.

Additionally, We Are Charles-ton details the triumphant 230 yearhistory of the AME Church – thelargest body of African-AmericanMethodists with 7.5 million mem-bers worldwide – and its role inAmerica’s social justice story fromslavery to the civil rights move-ment. The book discusses the im-portance of Mother EmanuelChurch itself, both to the Charles-ton community and to the nation.The oldest AME church in the

Deep South, Mother Emanuel’sperseverance in the face of adver-sity and discrimination serves asan example of faith and forgive-ness to the entire world. It was nocoincidence that this particularchurch was chosen for this griev-ous act.

“Nothing this tragic happens ina vacuum. Whether it be terrorismabroad or racism within, we havebecome the products of manyyears of anger in our culture,” saidMatt Baugher, Senior Vice Presi-dent of Thomas Nelson and Pub-

Con’t on page 21

19

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S Ju

ne

27

, 20

16

- July

10

, 20

16

20

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S J

un

e 2

7, 2

01

6 -

Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

By Author Evie Rhodes

Newark, NJ — My only son,James Rhodes, Jr., 24 years oldwas, gunned down, “executionstyle” with a single gunshot to thehead on May 20, 2016, on thestreets of Camden, New Jersey.EXPIRED. Just like that. Gone.He died in Cooper UniversityHospital of a gunshot wound tothe head approximately 20 min-utes after being shot. His death hasbeen declared a Homicide. Hiswas the first of four homicides ina weekend killing spree inCamden.

And now as my own life imi-tates my art, I get to experiencethe same tragedy I wrote about.My fictional character sufferedthrough the death of her youngestson. The title of my first nation-ally published novel, entitled“EXPIRED” revealed the shock,pain and heartbreak of a Motherwhose son has been murdered.What are the odds that my lifewould duplicate my writing? But,sadly it is true.

It’s so ironic, really, that I’velost my only son to the very sametype of horrific situations I’vebeen fighting against, and illus-trating in my writing. Trying tosave our children from these verysame circumstances from whichhe died. Trying to enlighten oth-ers through my writings.

I wanted to impart hope, faith,strength, as well as a sense ofempowerment to our youth, and Iwas doing that throughfictionalized accounts of urbanlife, modeled after every dayrealities and some of thechallenges they were facing tryingto grow up in circumstances thathave been rigged against themfrom the start in many ways. Asimple fact.

Once in a Teen Summit Ilectured in I had one of our youthtell me, “I did not think I had achoice until I read your book Out“A” Order.” How is it in this dayand age do our youth feel theydon’t have a choice?

That they must just endure theirdire circumstances because thereis no hope? Being born black andmale, economicallydisadvantaged, many of themexperiencing the stress from thetime of being in their mother’swomb, watching the poverty, lackof progress and opportunities drainthe life blood out of their mothers,fathers, uncles, and aunts, etc.,until so much of that turmoil hasbuilt up inside, and is now beingdisplayed in many unnamableways, and that pent up rage isboiling in the streets as theystruggle against the nameless,faceless disadvantages constantlyheaped upon them.

And now it’s all out of order.

The results are unbelievable,paralyzing, spewing out in terrorand hatred with nowhere to goexcept in the direction of the verysame oppression in which theywere born. They are helplesslywatching the constant strugglewithout reward. The result inmany cases is inward, and ourblood is running in the streets.

We point the finger at the horrorof the end results but many timesforget to question the verycircumstances which created thesituation with all of it’s definingfactors. No matter how it happensour sons are dying. They are notreaching the age of 25 years old.Our sons lives matter. And, wehave to step up and let the worldknow. We have to let them know.We have to let the voice of thosewhom are now voiceless be heard.

So I ask, just exactly how manyof our sons’ deaths are acceptable?Is it one, one hundred, onethousand or one million? Ipersonally feel even one is toomany. How many lives have to belost before the words “IT’SENOUGH,” explodes in a chainreaction motivating us as Blackmothers, Black fathers, Blackgrandparents, Black brothers andBlack sisters, Black cousins, Blacknieces and nephews, and all ofthose people who “really” care tocollectively agree that we arelosing our sons, that our childrenare in fact “EXPIRING” beforeour very eyes at an alarming rate?

What is it going to take to stop

the bloodshed? To stop theviolence? We have to beginaddressing it, collectively,seriously. Let’s have theconversation right here and nowbecause time is running out. Everysecond we waste another life isbeing lost, that might have beensaved. There is power in numbers.

Our Black sons are becomingcasualties of war, some kind ofinvisible war, right here on UnitedStates soil. Their blood is runningin the streets in our very ownneighborhoods, each and every,day. The young man charged withthe murder of my son, also 24years old, is incarcerated presentlyunder a $1 million dollar cash bail.(Read more at www.nj.com/camden/index.ssf /2016/05/camden_arraignment_murder.html)

One bullet, two livesdestroyed, all in an instant.Myself, the grieving mother in theashes of the tragedy, whom canbarely sleep at night, as images ofmy son haunt me, his voice, hissmile, his telling me, “Mommy Ilove you.” Words that I will neverhear from his lips again. Thequaking, heart-wrenching despairas I think of him lying with agunshot wound to the head, alonein the dark, and beyond my reach.

The unbelievable state of shockthat my body has been in sincereceiving the news. I feel like apasserby and a sleepwalker in myown life. Numbing, mind alteringgrief and disbelief grip me as Ihope I wake up tomorrowmorning and it’s not true. Yet,every single morning since May21, of 2016 I have awaken to thesame awful truth. My son is dead.

And so I ask you to join me inthis “Quest” to save yours orsomeone else’s son who is stillalive from such a fate, andtragedy. Join the Conversation.You may email me privately if youwish. I’m listening. Please share,tweet, pin, hashtag, follow andemail so we all get the samemessage, “We Need to Save OurChildren.”

Let’s start the conversation.Now. Collectively we can do this.I implore you please do not let onemore young man EXPIRE

without us at least having theconversation. There are things thatneed to be done. It takes a momentto start a National Collective byhitting the buttons, SHARE,TWEET, COMMENT,HASHTAG, FOLLOW, PIN, OREMAIL. Ask everyone to do thesame, and so on and so forth. Weuse Social Media everyday, letsput it to good use. I want to hearfrom you.

Your son is my son. My son isyours. Your daughter is mydaughter and my daughter isyours. My child is yours and yourchild is mine. It takes a village toraise a child. Take the initiativenow. My hand is out. Put yourhand in my hand and lets save ourchildren together. Our sons’ livesare not expendable. These youngmen need and deserve a present, afuture, decent lives, to be able toearn a livelihood and raise theirbabies amid sunshine, and greengrass while being economicallystable.

There is a back story here andit’s not pretty but it can bechanged, step by step. With aMother’s Love I share my griefand loss with you in the hopes ofpreventing this very same tragedyfor someone else, some othermother and family. No mothershould ever have to experience thispain. I wasn’t supposed to bury myson. My son was supposed to buryme.

There will be more articlesforthcoming regarding theconstant deaths of our sons. I amavailable to put in the work,collaborate, whenever, wherever.Let’s have a national chat. A“pledge” if you will that each andevery person who cares will try todo something in their everyday lifeto the best of their ability to assistin changing these odds.

Evie Rhodes is the author of thenationally published bookentitled, “Expired”. Visit herblog and sign up for updates atwww.evierhodes.com orwww.expired-the-movie.com/blog/

Hashtags: #MYSONSBLOOD

#BLOODSTAINEDSTREETS

#CYCLEOFBLACKMALEDEATH

Our Young Black Men Are Going Extinctlisher of W Publishing Group.“Through its powerful portrayal ofhistory and its stirring narrativefrom the present day, We areCharleston brilliantly shows all ofus the importance of awareness,action, and yes, even forgiveness.I can think of no better people towrite this book than these three in-dividuals, each with their own tiesto the city, the church, and the is-sue at hand. We’re honored to pub-lish this important work.”

“The tragedy at MotherEmanuel AME Church affected usdeeply,” the authors said in a groupstatement. “This book is our at-tempt to honor those whose liveswere lost, the survivors and theirfamilies by telling their stories inthe context of Charleston, thenation’s racial history and the so-cial justice efforts that have beenthe hallmark of the African Meth-odist Episcopal Church.”

The book is available onThomasNelson.com, Amazon.com,BarnesandNoble.com, and othermajor online book retailers.

About Thomas Nelson

Thomas Nelson, a division ofHarperCollins, is a world-leadingprovider of inspirational contentand has been providing readerswith quality life-changing productfor more than 200 years. The pub-lishing group provides multipleformats of awardwinning Bibles,books, gift books, cookbooks, cur-riculum and digital content, withdistribution of its products in morethan 100 countries. ThomasNelson is headquartered in Nash-ville, TN.

Con’t from page 18

21

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S Ju

ne

27

, 20

16

- July

10

, 20

16

22

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S J

un

e 2

7, 2

01

6 -

Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

by Elizabeth Overstreet,BlackDoctor.org Contributor

Men aren’t often proactive intaking care of their health needsand the women in their lives maybe the ones who push them to getthe medical care they require. But,if you’re a Black man and want tostay healthy, it’s imperative thatyou take charge of your health andmake sure you get a physical an-nually and these specific screen-ings as recommended. In doing so,it can make a huge difference inyour longevity and good health.

Here are five health tests everyBlack man needs:

Prostate Cancer Screening

According to the Journal ofUrology, African American menhave the highest rate of prostatecancer and are less likely tosurvive this disease compared toother racial/ethnic groups in theU.S. African American men aretwice as likely to die versus theirwhite counterparts. But, prostatecancer doesn’t have to be a deathsentence. You can have access toan early diagnosis through PSAscreening which can help youlower your risk of prostate cancerand decline your chances of losingyour life to this disease. Since therisk is higher for African-American men, prostate cancerscreening is something whichshould be done sooner versus later.According to Dr. Fleming ofVirginia Oncology Associatesinformed providers must knowthat when working with AfricanAmerican men, age 40 to 45 isappropriate to begin earlydetection

Heart Disease

According to the NAACPhealthcare fact sheet, heart diseaseis the leading cause of death forAfrican Americans. While we areonly 13% of the population, we aretwice as likely to die from heartdisease. African American men areat a higher risk (30% more) ofdying from heart disease versusnon-Hispanic white males. Sincemen on average die 10 yearsyounger than women, it’simportant to take heart tests so youcan know your risk factors.

One way to do so is by takingyour blood pressure. Normalblood pressure is 115 over 70. Ifyour blood pressure is more than130 over 80, this is a red flag thatsomething is wrong. You can takethis test at home. Home readingsare often considered more reliable.The second test you should takeis of cholesterol levels.This test

will factor in your blood fats andblood sugar and determine yourgood (HDL) and bad (LDL)cholesterol as well astriglycerides.

You can also perform a tapemeasure test. This test can be ahigher indicator of your risk thanwhat may come up when youweight yourself on a scale. If youare 40 inches or more around yourwaist, this is a risk factor for heartdisease. Starting your heart testsat age 18 is important because thisis the leading cause of death foryoung men other than autoaccidents and being shot.

Diabetes and Hypertension

The statistics are staggeringaround diabetes and hypertension.Nearly 15 percent of AfricanAmericans 20 years or older havediabetes, and we are 1.5 times

Health Tests Every Black Man Needs

more likely to contract diabetesversus Whites. Thirty-nine percentof African American men sufferfrom hypertension according tothe CDC, and since 36% ofAfrican American men are obesethis increases your risk for bothdiseases.

Make sure you have your bodymass index (BMI) measured basedon your height and weight todetermine obesity. According tothe National Heart, Lung, andBlood Institute, if your BMI isbetween 18.5 and 25, this isconsidered normal. If you are asmoker, don’t exercise and have aBMI over 30 this places you athigher risk for diabetes andhypertension.

If your blood pressure is greaterthan 135 over 80, this could alsobe a sign of diabetes. Tests fordiabetes may include a

hemoglobin A1C blood test, afasting plasma glucose (FPG) test,or an oral glucose tolerance test(OGTT). If you take a single test,this can be sufficient in diagnosingdiabetes. However, a second testis also conducted to confirm yourglucose levels are abnormal.

You should always be aware ofany abnormalities relating to yourtesticles. Testicular cancer usuallyaffects men between the ages of15 and 40. Having this testperformed by your physician andalso knowing how to perform it onyourself is critical to you noticingany changes in symptoms. Whilethe risk of testicular cancer is smallafter 40, the risk of prostate cancerincreases after the age of 50.

Colon Exam

Colon cancer is the secondleading cause of death of cancerin U.S. for both men and womenaccording to the American CancerSociety. Make sure when you hit50 years of age you are screenedfor colorectal (colon) cancer. Yourdoctor may have you tested earlierif it runs in your family. Thispainless procedure only takes 15to 20 minutes. But, this test canbe a critical one in detecting coloncancer early when it is treatable.This screening allows your doctorto find and remove precancerousgrowths before they becomemalignant.

Being smart and proactive aboutyour health care can save your life.Taking proper precautions andreceiving the right healthscreenings will place you on thepath to living a healthier andlonger life. Don’t delay doingwhat’s needed to keep you at yourbest!

23

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S Ju

ne

27

, 20

16

- July

10

, 20

16

24

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S J

un

e 2

7, 2

01

6 -

Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

25

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S Ju

ne

27

, 20

16

- July

10

, 20

16

26

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S J

un

e 2

7, 2

01

6 -

Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

Interview with Kam Williams

A Holler from Mahershala!

Born in Oakland and raised inneighboring Hayward, California,Mahershala Ali received his Bachelorof Arts degree in Mass Communica-tions at St. Mary’s College. He madehis professional debut performingwith the California Shakespeare Fes-tival in Orinda, California. Soonthereafter, he earned his Master’s de-gree in Acting from New YorkUniversity’s prestigious graduateprogram.

Mahershala is fast becoming oneof the freshest and most in-demandfaces in Hollywood with his extraor-dinarily diverse skill set and wide-ranging background in film, televi-sion, and theater. Last fall, hewrapped Brad Pitt and AdeleRomanski’s independently-producedfeature film, Moonlight, as well asreprised his role in The HungerGames: Mockingjay - Part 2, the fi-nal installment in the Hunger Gamesfranchise, alongside JenniferLawrence, Donald Sutherland, andJulianne Moore. As District 13’sHead of Security, ‘Boggs’ guides andprotects Katniss through the finalstages of the district’s rebellionagainst the Capitol.

On television, Mahershala was re-cently cast in Netflix’s Luke Cage inthe role of Cornell “Cottonmouth”Stokes. He can also be seen on theaward-winning Netflix original seriesHouse of Cards, where he’s repris-ing his fan-favorite role as lobbyistand former press secretary RemyDanton.

Mahershala’s previous feature filmcredits include The Place Beyond thePines opposite Ryan Gosling andBradley Cooper, Crossing Over star-ring Harrison Ford, John Sayles’ GoFor Sisters, and David Fincher’s TheCurious Case of Benjamin Button.

On television, he appeared oppo-site Julia Ormond in Lifetime’s TheWronged Man for which he subse-quently received an NAACP Nomi-nation for Best Actor. He also had alarge recurring role on Syfy’s Alphas,as well as the role of Richard Tyler,a Korean War pilot, on the critically-acclaimed drama The 4400.

On the stage, Mahershala appearedin productions of Blues for an Ala-bama Sky, The School for Scandal,A Lie of the Mind, A Doll’s House,Monkey in the Middle, The Merchantof Venice, The New Place and Se-

cret Injury, Secret Revenge. His ad-ditional stage credits include appear-ing in Washington, D.C. at the ArenaStage in the title role of The GreatWhite Hope, and in The Long Walkand Jack and Jill.

Here, Mahershala talks aboutplaying in Free State of Jones, a CivilWar saga co-starring MatthewMcConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Rawand Keri Russell.

Kam Williams: Hi Mahershala,thanks for the interview.

Mahershala Ali: Thank you,Kam.

KW: What interested you in FreeState of Jones?

MA: The story, first off. I hadnever heard of Newton Knight. So,the narrative as a whole was reallyattractive to me because it was a re-freshing departure from the homo-geneous depictions of the Civil Warwhere the North wanted to abolishslavery while the South wanted tokeep it intact. Here, you had an ex-ample of a Southerner who spoke outagainst slavery during the war andwho later became an activist for civilrights and this new idea of equalityfor all people regardless of one’s skincall, race or creed.

KW: What interested you in play-ing Moses?

MA: I had never seen a characterin this time period who had suchagency and mobility for someoneliving in the South. He had run awaywith a group of former slaves andwas really living life on his ownterms in the swamps. And he wasdetermined to be pro-active in hispeople’s emancipation. Also, seeinghis evolution over the course of thenarrative really inspired me. He’s adisenfranchised, runaway slave with

no education who learns to read andwrite and really becomes a leader andan active participant in the demo-cratic process who mobilizes others.His were big shoes to fill, but theywere ones that I was very excited tostep into.

KW: How was it working withsuch an accomplished cast that in-cluded Matthew McConaughey,Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Keri Russell andBrendan Gleeson?

MA: It was very inspiring and alsohumbling. It was a difficult shoot, be-ing in the swamps in both the heatand the cold for four months, but ev-erybody arrived ready to go, all-inand totally committed. It all startedwith Matthew and Gary [directorGary Ross] who had a wonderful en-ergy and approach to the work everyday that trickled down to the rest ofthe cast and crew. Everyone wasaware of and inspired by the impor-tance of the story we were telling, andthat was another added layer that con-tributed to the focus that everyonehad.

KW: And how was it being di-rected by a four-time Oscar-nomineein Gary Ross?

MA: Pretty phenomenal, startingwith the audition process. he was verycurious about my ideas in terms offleshing out the character, and he alsowanted to know my perspective as anAfrican-American and whether I feltit reflected the African-American ex-perience. And it was mind-blowingand empowering how Gary wantedto portray African-Americans partici-pating in their own liberation. So, Iwould work with him again at thedrop of a hat.

KW: What message do you thinkpeople will take away from the film?

MA: That the struggle for freedom

continues. And if you’re a person likeNewt, it becomes your responsibil-ity to empower those in close prox-imity to you.

KW: Harriet Pakula-Teweles asks:With so many classic films being re-done, is there a remake you’d like tostar in?

MA: The Great White Hope. Iwould love to redo that film in a waywhere it would be more focused onJack Johnson.

KW: Larry Greenberg asks: Doyou have a favorite movie monster?

MA: Terrence Stamp as GeneralZod in the1978 version of Supermanstarring Christopher Reeve.

KW: What is your favorite dish tocook?

MA: I’m not much of cook, but Icook a mean bowl of oatmeal.

KW: Ling-Ju Yen asks: What isyour earliest childhood memory?

MA: I remember choking on thecore of an apple while being bathedin a large sink by my dad. He slappedme on the back until I coughed it up.

KW: Who loved you uncondition-ally during your formative years?

MA: My parents and my grandpar-ents. My mom was extraordinarilypresent, but I’m so appreciate of allof them.

KW: Was there a meaningful spiri-tual component to your childhood?

MA: I grew up in church. Mymom’s a minister, and my grand-mother was an ordained minister. Iwas always very mindful of the pres-ence of a greater being I call God.

KW: How were you affected bythe passing of Muhammad Ali?

MA: I was very affected by it. Hewas my first hero. I was mesmerizedby his photos and his presence, eventhough he was retiring around thetime I was becoming conscious ofhim. He was 100% my first hero andidol.

KW: Sherry Gillam would like toknow what is the most important lifelesson you’ve learned so far?

MA: Hold tight to the mentality ofbeing a student, meaning hold on tocuriosity and approach life as a stu-dent.

KW: What was your very first job?

MA: Working at Kentucky FriedChicken. I was apple to save up and

by my first car over the course of thatsummer.

KW: What’s the craziest thingyou’ve ever done?

MA: Commit myself to this jour-ney of becoming an actor. It takes alot of love and support and wonder-ful allies. But I don’t necessarily rec-ommend it.

KW: Is there any question no oneever asks you, that you wish some-one would?

MA: No one ever asks me whatinspires me. What inspires me todayis a desire to get closer to an under-standing of what my artistic capaci-ties are with the hope of organicallysharing my gifts with an audience inthe most heightened way I possiblycan.

KW: What is your guiltiest plea-sure?

MA: Granola. I never grew out ofthe cereal thing. As an adult, I couldeat granola three times a day, if itdidn’t have so much sugar in it.

KW: Judyth Piazza asks: What keyquality do you believe all successfulpeople share?

MA: They tend to believe in them-selves and to be really impassioned.The people that I admire have a won-derful balance of self-belief and hu-mility.

KW: What advice do you have foranyone who wants to follow in yourfootsteps?

MA: To really be conscious of howlong the journey is, be patient, pushyourself, persevere and always beworking on your craft while waitingfor your break. That’s what I’m stillworking on, having done this for 20years now.

KW: The Tavis Smiley question:How do you want to be remembered?

MA: I guess as someone who wasalways looking to grow and improvein all the aspects of my life, from act-ing to being a good family man toembracing the spiritual tenets that Ichoose to practice. I always hope tobe a better person tomorrow than to-day.

KW: Finally, what’s in your wal-let?

MA: [Chuckles]I don’t have a wal-let. I carry my driver’s license and acouple of credit cards in my phone.That and a money clip.

KW: Thanks again for the time,Mahershala, and best of luck with thefilm.

Mahershala Ali The “Free State of Jones”

27

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S Ju

ne

27

, 20

16

- July

10

, 20

16

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPANews Wire Contributor

In an unpredictable, disruptivemedia environment featuring newways for consumers to receive videocontent over Wi-Fi, apps and livestreaming, established mediacompanies are bracing for a futuredriven by big tech and consumerchoice with new profit models.

It happened in the newspaperindustry. It happened in the musicindustry. It happened in the bookpublishing industry. And now it’shappening slowly, but surely inbroadcasting as a host of newentrepreneurs are set to arrive on anincreasingly competitive scene.

In February, Tom Wheeler, thechairman of the FederalCommunications Commission(FCC), moved to free consumers,who are now collectively paying$20 billion every year, from buyingor renting a set-top box for cable TV.The FCC wants to “unlock the box”and allow others to provide videocontent such as Google and Apple.

The move would be a shakeup ofthe status quo. The technologyaround video-on-demand is clearlychanging as seen in companies suchas YouTube, Hulu, TiVo, Kweli.tv,Netflix and Ustream. On April 15,President Obama signed anexecutive order backing Wheeler’sefforts to open the cable set top box.

“The cost of cable set-top boxeshas risen 185 percent while the costof computers, televisions andmobile phones has dropped by 90percent,” FCC Chairman TomWheeler said on the issue.

Last week on Capitol Hill,Congressional Black Caucus ChairG.K. Butterfield and Rep. YvetteClarke (D-N.Y.) announced a newCongressional Caucus onMulticultural Media that will “focuson the state of diversity andinclusion in the media and in thetelecommunications industry.”

Clarke said that the potentialharm that the proposed FCC rulecould do to multicultural mediacompanies is very real.

She suggested delaying action onthe proposed rule, “until theCongressional Research Service(CRS) and the GovernmentAccountability Office (GAO)complete their prospective studieson the impact on multicultural

media under this proposed rule.”Clarke and Butterfield were

joined by TV One CEO Al Ligginsand BET Networks ExecutiveDebra Lee at the press eventannouncing the new caucus. BothClarke and Butterfield serve on theHouse Energy and CommerceCommittee.

“While we must be open to therising cultural expectations tomake programs available on-demand or through streamingservices, we also have to balancethese interests with the assurancethat we are not pitting the fewdiverse programmers out thereagainst each other or allowingsome to pick winners and losers,”Butterfield said.

The phrase, “few diverseprogrammers” is anunderstatement. AfricanAmericans own less than 1 percentof all TV properties and less than2 percent of radio as reported byPew Research.

“We think that the marketplaceis robust enough as it is and [theproposed FCC rule] isunnecessary,” said Liggins. “Webelieve competition should bethere, but we believe it shouldhappen in an app form whichprotects all the rights and thelicense agreements that we’vemade with the existing paid TVproviders.”

Butterfield expressed concernsthat the FCC’s plan to “unlock thebox” might risk the progress indiverse programming thattelevision audiences have seen inrecent years.

Despite that progress, minority-owned media companies representa minuscule portion of all broadcastmedia and many Black mediacompany owners are pushing forthe FCC change, saying that thestatus quo has done little to affectthe ownership disparity.

On a conference call an hourafter Reps. Clarke and Butterfieldannounced the new caucus, PeggyDodson, the CEO of the UrbanBroadcasting Company offered analternative view and supported theFCC “unlocking the box.”

“We’re about creating aproducing urban content, but thatcontent has to be searchable, it hasto be found and it has to bemonetized,” Dodson said. “Thegenie is out of the box. Thehourglass has been turned over. Ithink what is being missed betweenComcast and Time Warner fightingwith Google and thinking thatGoogle is going to take over, is theminority-owned producers andcontent creators. We’re beingswept under the rug. We needdiversity. We do not ownanything.”

Dodson continued: “Opening the

box is inevitable. It is the answer.It’s happening. We can’t stop it.People are choosing whatplatforms they want to seeprograming on and how they wantto see it and when they want to seeit. Everyone can make money.”

Dodson said that she’s not tryingto put TV One or anyone else outof business.

“That is not my goal. My goal isto have the opportunity to monetizeand have people see the content ona platform that is searchable andthat can be monetized,” Dodsonadded.

Clifford Franklin, CEO ofGFNTV, said that he was shockedto hear the comments from BETand TV One.

“It’s shocking to me to see thecomments from BET and TV Onebecause they know this has been avery anti-competitive situation thatwe’re in. At the end of the day wehave to disrupt this industry,”Franklin told reporters.

“We’ve been inundated withbaboonery and thugs and anti-social behavior and some of thathas come from our urbanchannels,” Franklin added. “Weneed a lot more diversity of thoughtfrom our content creators. Theyhave pretty much been shut out ofthe game.”

CBC Members Worry Proposed FCC Rule Could Hurt Black Media Companies

TV One CEO Al Liggins said that any new FCC rules about set top boxes must protect all the of the existing rights and the licenseagreements involving paid TV providers. (Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA) Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.)

agreement not to sue the city.

Meanwhile, on MondayNemerson placed James onadministrative leave, accordingto city Corporation Counsel JohnRose. She has not since been inher office at 200 Orange St.

Nemerson informed her staffby email that city Small BusinessDevelopment Officer ClaytonWilliams, Jr. will temporarilyoversee the office.

Williams, who has been withthe city since October 2006, wasstill working in his sixth-floorCity Hall office on Thursday. Hesaid he has no current plans torelocate to the 200 OrangeOffice. “The Small BusinessAcademy is in transition. I’vebeen asked to work with [DeputyEconomic DevelopmentAdministrator] Steve Fontana tooversee the transition,” Williamssaid. He said he won’t knowmore about that work until nextweek, when Nemerson returns toNew Haven. Nemerson is inCleveland this week with MayorHarp and EconomicDevelopment Corporation chiefVirginia Kozlowski meeting withthe CEO of Key Bank, which istaking over First Niagara Bank.

“I am out on vacation. I haven’tsigned an agreement yet,” JackieJames said Thursday. “And theyknow they weren’t supposed tobe talking with my staff.”

Reached by phone, Nemersonsaid he can’t discuss details of apersonnel matter.“Communications were sent outof respect for the existing staffone of whom will run out offunding on June 30,” he said.“My email specificallyconditions all changes as ‘fornow’ and ‘for the time being.’”

He referred personnelquestions to Corporation CounselRose.

“We’re working on finalizingall the documents regarding”James, Rose said, decliningfurther comment on the matter.He did not that administrativeleave is not a form of “laborpunishment.”

James On LeaveCon’t from page 15

BECOME A FOSTER ORADOPTIVE PARENT…

For more Information

ATTEND AN INFORMATIONAL SESSION

Please call 1-888-KID-HERODepartment of Children and Families

helpless I was without the tools.”

Thirty years later, Lewis Hallsaid that physicians still lack thenecessary tools to treat the disease.

Although some of the drugs thatscientists have discovered have justnot been good enough or safeenough, according to Lewis-Halland Banks, the reason why a curehasn’t been developed is becauseAfrican Americans haven’tparticipated enough in clinicaltrials.

All of the participants, includingDr. Kevin Williams, the vicepresident of global medical affairsin Pfizer’s rare disease unit,recognized that African Americansare reluctant and often afraid toparticipate in clinical trials,because of the lingering distrust ofthe medical field due to theTuskegee Syphilis Study and oftenpoor treatment received at medicalfacilities.

Thomas Watkins, the publisherof the Daily Challenge, said“Blacks will participate in clinicaltrials as long as they’re not the onlyones.”

Banks said that the AfricanAmerican community needs to getover the stigma associated withclinical trials.

“The syphilis study wouldn’thappen again,” said Banks. “We aretoo much of an educatedcommunity now … and who’sgoing to make these drugs come tofruition? If we don’t participatewe’ll never find treatment or acure.”

“A lot of people have no ideaabout what it means to participatein a clinical trial,” says Dr. LewisHall … Some of it is re-educatingabout the things that have happenedin our collective African Americanpast.

“We need to be educatedspecifically what it really means tobe in a clinical trial,” said Lewis-Hall. “Our absolute best advocatesare people who have been inclinical trials.”

Today’s clinical trials are alsohighly regulated by third partyexperts and require informed

consent.

Marie Ojiambo, who is not onlya SCD patient and Pfizer intern,but is also an advocate that workswith SCDAA said that it’s easierfor her to go to a SCD patient andget them to participate in a clinicaltrial than it is for a doctor.

There are 37,500 clinical trialscurrently available, said Dr.Lewis-Hall.

Pfizer is currently in Phase 3 oftheir clinical trial and needs toenroll 350 participants within thenext 2 years. Since they’vealready obtained some positiveresults from their Phase 2 trials,they hope to have a drug availablein 3-5 years.

Dr. Lewis-Hall explained that itusually takes 15 years to bring anew drug to trial. “So by the timethat you get to Phase 3, it wouldbe an unusual event for a companyto walk away…and if this drugdoesn’t make it because of a lackof participation, it would be acrying shame.”

For more information aboutclinical trials log on towww.clinicaltrials.gov orwww.gethealthystayhealthy.comand click on the link, “Find aTrial.”

Disease Clinical TrialsCon’t on from 11

Nationwide — Jonathan A. Ma-son, Sr., International President ofPhi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.,has issued the following state-ment:

“Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, In-corporated stands in solidaritywith the community of Orlando,Florida, and our country, as wemourn the tragic act of violenceduring which at least 100 peoplewere shot, and 49 of those victimswere brutally murdered on Sun-day, June 12, 2016. Once again,our country is face to face withthe realities of how to effectivelyaddress the issues of differencesbetween races, religions and thosewhom society deems different, aswell as what to do about the issueof gun ownership. This horren-dous attack upon the LGBT com-munity is more than a reminderthat we must change our ap-proaches to these issues—it is aclarion call to action!”

“There are no words which canadequately describe the pain in-flicted upon the victims of thislatest act of destruction and theirfamilies; there is nothing whichcan provide logical answers as towhy someone believes it is theirright to destroy others in responseto what they personally believe.”

“We live in a country foundedupon the principles that each ofits citizens is “endowed with cer-

tain unalienable rights . . .life, lib-erty and the pursuit of happiness”.Yet, there are those who believe itappropriate to deny certain mem-bers of our society these God-given rights.”

“Now is not the time for com-placency; the future of our coun-try is affected by the intoleranceof a few who believe it to be their“right” to destroy anyone and ev-eryone who don’t share their ideasand beliefs. As members of thisFraternity, we will not be inter-preted as supporting such ideology,especially by being silent. We con-tinue to answer the call to build on

the legacy begun by our Founders,to promote the building of bettercommunities through positive ac-tion.”

“As a fraternity founded on theprinciples of Brotherhood,Scholarship and Service, we arecalled upon to stand up and speakout on the issues which affect allof us. We must strengthen ourcommitment to working for better,safer and stronger communities. Iask you to join us in supportingthe city of Orlando, Florida as itworks to become stronger andbetter in spite of this tragedy.Prayer is always in order. We allmust follow those prayers withactions to make a difference in ourcommunities and our world.”

Phi Beta Sigma FraternityIncorporated is one of ninepredominantly African AmericanGreek-Lettered organizations,founded on January 9, 1914 atHoward University. Its Foundersbelieved in the principles ofBrotherhood, Scholarship andService, which are exhibited in theFraternity motto “Culture forService and Service forHumanity”. Phi Beta Sigma has amembership of over 150,00 menin over 750 chapters throughoutthe continental United States,Africa, Asia and Europe. For moredetails, visitwww.phibetasigma1914.org

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Stands Against Senseless Violencein Orlando & Reaffirms Its Promise to Care For Communities

30

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S J

un

e 2

7, 2

01

6 -

Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

By Marian Wright Edelman,President, Children’s Defense Fund

“So Dad has joined the other [ances-tors] up there. I feel that they do watchand guide, and I also feel that they joinme in the hope that this story of ourpeople can help alleviate the legacies ofthe fact that preponderantly the histo-ries have been written by the winners.”

– Alex Haley, from the conclusion of“Roots: The Saga of an American Fam-ily”

On the 40th anniversary of the publi-cation of Alex Haley’s landmark book“Roots: The Saga of an American Fam-ily,” a new television adaptation isbringing renewed attention to the storythat opened so many eyes to the harshtruth about American slavery and its af-termath — an aftermath that continuesunder new guises despite muchprogress.

The publication of “Roots” in 1976came at a seminal moment in Americanhistory. Cities across America werehosting celebrations of the nation’s bi-centennial and the founding creed setforth in the Declaration of Indepen-dence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,that they are endowed by their Creatorwith certain unalienable Rights, thatamong these are Life, Liberty and thepursuit of Happiness.”

In 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.reminded our nation and world on thesteps of the Lincoln Memorial thatAmerica had never fully lived up to thatpromise: “When the architects of our re-public wrote the magnificent words ofthe Constitution and the Declaration ofIndependence, they were signing apromissory note to which every Ameri-can was to fall heir. This note was apromise that all men, yes, black men aswell as white men, would be guaranteedthe ‘unalienable Rights’ of ‘Life, Lib-erty and the pursuit of Happiness.’ It isobvious today that America has de-faulted on this promissory note insofaras her citizens of color are concerned.Instead of honoring this sacred obliga-tion, America has given the Negropeople a bad check, a check which hascome back marked ‘insufficient funds.’”

With “Roots” Alex Haley providedan epic lesson in American historythrough the story of his American fam-ily — slavery from the enslavedpeople’s point of view. His book spentmonths on the bestseller list and theoriginal television adaptation of Rootsthat aired in January 1977 shatteredviewing records as it gave tens of mil-lions of people a visual, visceral expe-

rience of the true horrors of slavery. Forthe first time descendants of slaves, de-scendants of slave owners, and peopleof all backgrounds were sharing a com-mon experience and understanding ofAmerica’s original sin whose after ef-fects still radiate across our land. Ac-knowledging that truth together was atransformative experience.

In the past year we have seen a wel-come surge, prodded by new books onslavery, campus debates, and studentprotests, of new commitments by someuniversities and other institutions toconfront the truth about their own his-tories, especially the ugly legacies ofslavery and Native American genocide.Black Lives Matter protests denounc-ing indefensible deaths of Black youthsand citizens at the hands of out of con-trol law enforcement officials inFerguson, Baltimore, Cleveland, NewYork City, Texas, and elsewhere and theshocking racist vigilante citizen killingsof Trayvon Martin in Florida and themassacre of praying Black churchpeople in South Carolina heightened theneed for greater racial awareness and na-tional action.

I hope the renewed interest in Rootswill spark much greater and sustainedinterest in an honest retelling of our his-tory and promote new dialogue aboutthe ways today’s structural, cultural,racial and economic inequalities reflectracial seeds from our violent past of sla-very and Jim Crow which still poisonthe soil and political discourse of ournation. Only confronting the truth aboutour nation’s profound birth defects andstruggling deliberately to overcomethem with open eyes, hearts, minds anddeeds can make us all free.

The Children’s Defense Fund (CDF)has a special connection to Alex Haley.In 1994 CDF bought Alex Haley’s 157-acre farm in Tennessee for servant lead-ership development, intergenerational,interfaith, and interracial dialogue andspiritual renewal. The HarlemChildren’s Zone was conceptualized inHaley Farm’s lodge by Geoff Canadaand a cadre of Black Community Cru-sade for Children® leaders. Faith lead-ers gather each year for spiritual retreats,great preaching and renewal, and youngleaders come to learn from elders aboutnonviolent strategies for seeking racialand economic justice. Gurgling creeksrun through it, mountains lurk in thebackground, and trees rustle in the wind.And thanks to the generosity of Barnesand Noble chair Len Riggio and his wifeLouise, Haley Farm has been blessedas the only place with two Maya Lindesigned buildings in existence: theLangston Hughes Library, with its MayaAngelou and John Hope Franklin read-ing room, and the Riggio-Lynch Chapel.I have been struck by how many of thethousands of people of all ages, faithsand disciplines who have come throughHaley Farm’s gates appreciate its beauty

and say it feels like home and the com-munities we once experienced. It is asmoke free, drug free, alcohol free, vio-lence free and hate free environmentgrounded in love and mutual respect.

The largest annual gathering at HaleyFarm brings together about 2,000 col-lege-aged young people who train in-tensively to return to their local com-munities to teach about 12,000 childrenin CDF Freedom Schools® programsdesigned to staunch summer learningloss, close the educational achievementgap, and empower children to make adifference in their schools, communi-ties, nation and world. This year theywill hear from leading educators, histo-rians, children’s and young adult bookauthors, and faith leaders. We will dis-cuss how to truthfully teach history tohelp children of all races understand ournation’s roots including Native Ameri-can genocide, slavery, and exclusion ofall women and non-propertied men fromthe electoral process in our beginningyears. We also will discuss how they canmake a difference in closing the gaps intheir communities between America’sdream and reality. Together they and allof us must help write the next chapterin our ongoing struggle to makeAmerica a more perfect union.

At the dedication of Haley Farm, sev-eral hundred people of every race, faithand discipline committed to help builda movement to Leave No Child Be-hind® and to ensure every child ahealthy start, a head start, a fair start, asafe start, and a moral start in life andsuccessful passage to adulthood with thehelp of caring families and communi-ties. That struggle must continue untilthe prophet Zechariah’s vision of “thecity full of boys and girls playing in itsstreets” — safely and joyfully ¬— is re-alized all over our violence-saturatedland. I thank Alex Haley for remindingAfrican Americans and all Americansof our roots, our strengths, our struggles,our courage, our faith, and our God-given human capacity to overcome ad-versity. If we all work without ceasingwe will overcome one day and build anAmerica where every child is welcomeand safe. Now is the time to move for-ward and not backwards in the quest forracial and economic justice. Now is thetime for all citizens to stand up, raiseour voices, and vote to ensure that Dr.King’s dream — America’s dream —becomes reality.

Marian Wright Edelman is Presidentof the Children’s Defense Fund whoseLeave No Child Behind® mission is toensure every child a Healthy Start, aHead Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Startanda Moral Start in life and successful pas-sage to adulthood with the help of car-ing families and communities. For moreinformation go towww.childrensdefense.org.

Why We Must Never Forget Our Roots

on that site. It was intended as a sitefor people in the neighborhood,”Paley said. “It’s strange how thingswork in this city.”

The majority of the Bassett-Newhall plot is overgrown withweeds. But a strip of fresh dirt inthe middle third of the gardenstands out amid the generaldisrepair.

Harry Reddish, who has lived onNewhall Street for more than twodecades, began gardening there lastweek, planting kale, okra andsummer squash, among othervegetables.

But the future of his vegetablepatch, which has no connection toany formal city initiative for theland, remains uncertain.

Reddish said he was encouragedto start planting by a representativefrom the NHS, who knocked on hisdoor last Friday to invite him intothe garden, even though the city hassole jurisdiction over the plot.

The LCI had instructed Paley tostay away from the garden the daybefore Reddish began planting hisvegetables. But by Friday, Paleysaid, not everyone on the NHS staffhad heard the news.

“We obviously are not authorizedto tell people what they can or can’tdo on a city-owned lot,” he added.

In an interview outside thegarden, Clyburn told theIndependent that she hopes theconfusion over the ownership of theland will not interfere withReddish’s plans.

LCI chief Serrena Neal-Sanjurjo said Friday that thewater should be turned on comeMonday. LCI needed to get theaccount with the water companyswitched from the land trust’sname first this week, she said.

“I Always Wanted a Part in theGarden”

That will come as a relief toReddish, who has struggled to getthe garden going with no watersupply.

“If this water don’t turn on, thenI have to figure out a way to get ahose from my house to the garden,”Reddish said. “Because I’m gonna

need water.”

And then he paused, shifting to aconspiratorial whisper as hegestured in the direction ofQuattlebaum’s porch.

“And no way I’ll be using a hoseto my house to water my flowers,”he said.

Still, Reddish was thrilled tobegin gardening in the BassettStreet site, which he has covetedever since he moved in.

“God gave me the opportunitythat I would be able to plant in thatgarden,” he said. “Over the 20something years I was living there,I always wanted a part in thegarden.”

Reddish said he intends todistribute vegetables to all hisneighbors, “no one getting morethan the other.” And he also plansto open the remaining space in thegarden to the whole community—a gesture of inclusivity that he saidwas missing from his predecessor’sstewardship.

Reddish said he always got thesense that Quattlebaum wanted tokeep the plot for himself. And overtwo decades, he never volunteeredto help with the gardening.

“The way this guy acted, it waslike he owned everything and raneverything,” Reddish said. “[He]didn’t give anyone else the chanceto plant anything there.”

Reddish added that he once askedto buy collard greens from thegarden. But Quattlebaum, whotypically shared vegetables withonly a small circle of familymembers and friends from church,did not follow through on therequest.

“The way he was running thisthing, everybody just let him haveit by himself,” Reddish said.

Quattlebaum told theIndependent that he tried to getmore neighbors involved in thegarden but that no one expressedmuch interest. He declined,however, to discuss how hisvegetables were distributed.

“I got nothing to do with thatdamn garden,” he said. “Just forgetit.”

Garden-VarietyCon’t on page

31

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S Ju

ne

27

, 20

16

- July

10

, 20

16

32

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S J

un

e 2

7, 2

01

6 -

Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

ClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifiedsPLACING AN AD EASY

203 387-0354BUSINESS HOURS - MONDAY FRIDAY 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM - 50 FITCH NEW HAVEN CT, 06515 - Career/Education/Training • Bid• L egal and Public Notices • Health Care • Real Estate • Professional

Connecticut’s First Choice For Urban News Since1990

Inner-CityTheInner-CityNews ClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifieds

Welder-Exp. Welderfor

structural steelMisc shop. Send

resume:[email protected]

Pre-applications for waiting list at Orchard Hill Estates I HUD complexwill be accepted until June 30, 2016. To qualify you must be at least 62 ordisabled with a maximum gross income of $18,800 (one person) or $21,450(two people). Interested parties may pick up an application on line atcoventryct.org, or at 1630 Main St.,

Coventry, CT 06238 or have one mailed

by calling 860-742-5518.

DEEP RIVER HOUSING AUTHORITYOPENING WAITING LIST FOR

SENIOR/DISABLED

The Deep River Housing Authority will open its waiting list for Senior/ DisabledHousing on June 1st. This list will remain open until July 31, 2016.To request an application please call 860-526-5119 applications will be acceptedby mail (must be postmarked by 7/31/16)Housing is available to anyone over 62 or handicapped/disabled that meet the in-come guidelines. Monthly rate is based on income with a minimum base rent re-quirement of $495.

Deep River Housing Authority

60 Main Street Deep River, CT 06417

Town of BloomfieldFinance Director

$87,871-$135,632For details and how

to apply, go towww.bloomfieldct.org.

Pre-employmentdrug testing.

AA/EOE

WILLIMANTIC MINORITY CONTRACTOR OPPORTUNITYConstruction Resources, Inc. is currently soliciting proposals from CT DAS CertifiedM/W/Dis/SBE contractors and material suppliers as it relates to the following project:Renovations to The Murray Building, 699 Main Street, Willimantic, CT. Interestedparties are asked to contact Construction Resources Farmington office at (860) 678-0663 or email Mark Rubins at [email protected] or Vivian Garcia-Arnold at NK“mailto:[email protected]”[email protected]. Project Goal is 30/10.

Construction Resources, Inc. is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks: Construction EquipmentMechanic preferably experienced in Reclaiming and Road

Milling Equipment. We offer factory training on equipment weoperate. Location: Bloomfield CT

Contact: James Burke Phone: 860- 243-2300

email: [email protected]

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply

Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits

Union Company seeks:Tractor Trailer Driver for Heavy & Highway Construction Equip-ment. Must have a CDL License, clean driving record, capableof operating heavy equipment; be willing to travel throughoutthe Northeast & NY.

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

Contact: Dana Briere Phone: 860-243-2300

Email: [email protected]

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply

Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:Reclaimer Operators and Milling Operators with

current licensing and clean driving record.

We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits

Contact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860- 243-2300Email: ailto:[email protected]”[email protected]

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply

Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employe

Experienced Concrete Construction Laborers to form and pourconcrete footings/walls/floors. Must be able to lift/carry up to100 lbs. Must be able to pass a pre-employment physical and

drug test. Please call 860-653-6664

Information TechnologyAdministrative Application Technologist. The Town of Wallingford

Public Schools is seeking a highly skilled individual to provide techni-

cal assistance in managing its organizational data system needs. The

position requires 4 years information technology experience in a K-12

school environment which includes 2 years experience with Microsoft

Office, PowerSchool, Crystal Reports, or similar reporting software.

Must have own transportation to travel between schools in the district.

Wages: $26.83 hourly (currently in wage negotiations) plus an excel-

lent fringe benefit package. Apply to: Personnel Department, Town of

Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Fax #:

(203) 294-2084. Closing date will be June 22, 2016 or the date the 50th

application is received, whichever occurs first. EOE.

Ashford Housing authority

49 Tremko Lane Ashford, CT 06278

The Ashford Housing Authority is now accepting applications for theSenior/Disabled housing through July 31, 2016. To qualify you must be 62or disabled and meet required Income limits. The monthly rent is based on

30% of income with a minimum base rent of $495. Applications areavailable by phone at (860) 429-8556, online at www.ashfordhousing.org

or may be picked up at:

Assistant Town Engineer- Seeking an experi-enced professional to support the Town Engineer inthe performance of a variety of engineering duties.A B.S. in civil, electrical, mechanical or transpor-tation engineering or closely related field, plus 7years of civil engineering exp. Salary: $77,695-$99,410 annually plus an excellent fringe benefitpackage. Applications/resumes will be accepteduntil July 6, 2016 at the following address: Person-nel Department, Town of Wallingford, 45 SouthMain St., Wallingford, CT 06492, (203) 294-2080.Fax: (203) 294-2084. EOE

33

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S Ju

ne

27

, 20

16

- July

10

, 20

16

ClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifiedsPLACING AN AD EASY

203 387-0354BUSINESS HOURS - MONDAY FRIDAY 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM - 50 FITCH NEW HAVEN CT, 06515 - Career/Education/Training • Bid• L egal and Public Notices • Health Care • Real Estate • Professional

Connecticut’s First Choice For Urban News Since1990

Inner-CityTheInner-CityNews ClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifieds

Twin Brook Properties.Un nuevo y lujoso complejo de apartamentos,situado en las faldas de la roca del oeste,Augustine St. Nuestros departamentos sonamplias y luminosas de un y dos dormitorios.Comienzan desde de $ 1.300 incluyendo losservicios públicos y están equipadas conrefrigerador de tamaño completo, aireacondicionado central, trituradores de basura,walk in closet y conexiones de lavadora/secadora. Llame a la Oficina de Gestión de laPropiedad al 203-389-2100 o 203-410-9427para programar una cita. Visítenos enwww.twinbrookproperties.com.

Twin Brook Properties.A luxurious new apartment complex, locatedin the foot hills of West Rock, Augustine St.

These spacious and bright, one and twobedroom apartments start at $1,300 includ-ing utilities and include full size refrigerators,central air conditioning, garbage disposals,walk in closets and full size washer/dryerhook ups. Call the Property Management

Office at 203-389-2100 or 203-410-9427 toschedule a viewing. Visit us atwww.twinbrookproperties.com.

Invitation for Bids

Uniform Physical Conditions Standards Contractor (UPCS)

The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven

(HANH) is currently seeking Bids for Uniform

Physical Conditions Standards Contractor (UPCS). A

complete copy of the requirement may be obtained

from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://

newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway

beginning on Wednesday. May 18, 2016 at 3:00PM

Housing Authority of the City of New Haven

Glazier Apprentice OpportunityWell established Architectural Glazing Contractor doing

business in CT and NY. We are looking for someone in-

terested in building a career with our company in the glass

and glazing industry.

Ideal for someone in the construction industry looking to

build a career in a licensed trade. Please call Sonya @

1-203-748-8620

An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer

SEMAC ELECTRIC SEMAC ELECTRIC SEMAC ELECTRIC SEMAC ELECTRIC SEMAC ELECTRIC AAAELECTRICIANSELECTRICIANSELECTRICIANSELECTRICIANSELECTRICIANS

Semac Electric is seeking Electricians (CT Licensed

Journeymen & Foremen, E1 and E2) to join our team formedium & large commercial construction projects thru out the

State of CT: Hartford, Fairfield & New Haven Counties. We haveexcellent wages and benefits. We are an Equal Opportunity

Employer. Applications available at our main office at 45 PeterCourt, New Britain, CT or send resume to P.O. Box 638, New

Britain, CT 06050 or via fax to 860-229-0406 or email:mailto:[email protected]”[email protected]

Elm City Communities

Request for Proposals

RAD Consultant ServicesHousing Authority City of New Haven d/b/a Elm city Communities is cur-

rently seeking Proposals for RAD Consultant Services. A complete copy of

the requirement may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration

Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway begin-

ning on Monday, June 20, 2016 at 9:00AM

The Housing Authority of the City of BridgeportRequest for Qualifications (RFQ)

Architectural and Engineering ServicesSolicitation Number: 070-PD-16-S

The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport d/b/a Park City Communities (PCC) is

seeking proposals from qualified architects and engineering firms to assist in various ar-

chitectural and engineering projects on an as needed basis. The PCC will select multiple

firms who shall be placed on an A/E roster. Solicitation package will be available on June

20, 2016 to obtain a copy of the solicitation you must send your request to

[email protected], please reference solicitation number and title on the sub-

ject line. A pre-bid conference will be held at 150 Highland Ave, Bridgeport, CT 06604 on

July 6, 2016, @ 10:00 a.m. Although attendance is not mandatory, submitting a bid for the

project without attending conference is not in the best interest of the Offeror. Additional

questions should be emailed only to [email protected] no later than July 14,

2016 @ 3:00 p.m. Answers to all the questions will be posted on PCC’s Website:

www.parkcitycommunities.org. Proposals shall be mailed or hand delivered by July 21,

2016 @ 3:00 PM, to Ms. Caroline Sanchez, Contract Specialist, 150 Highland Ave, Bridge-

port, CT 06604. Late proposals will not be accepted.

The Housing Authority of the City of BridgeportRequest for Proposal (RFP)

Labor & Employment Attorney Legal ServicesSolicitation Number:A 071-HR-16-S

The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport d/b/a Park City Communities (PCC)

is seeking seeks proposals from attorneys/law firms for the provision of a full cadre of

legal services. Respondent(s) must have graduated from an accredited law school

and be a member of the Connecticut Bar. Solicitation package will be available on

June 20, 2016 to obtain a copy of the solicitation you must send your request to

[email protected], please reference solicitation number and title on the

subject line. A pre-bid conference will be held at 150 Highland Ave, Bridgeport, CT

06604 on July 5, 2016, @ 10:00 a.m. Although attendance is not mandatory, submit-

ting a bid for the project without attending conference is not in the best interest of the

Offeror. Additional questions should be emailed only to [email protected]

no later than July 14, 2016 @ 3:00 p.m. Answers to all the questions will be posted on

PCC’s Website: www.parkcitycommunities.org. Proposals shall be mailed or hand

delivered by July 21, 2016 @ 3:00 PM, to Ms. Caroline Sanchez, Contract Specialist,

150 Highland Ave, Bridgeport, CT 06604. Late proposals will not be accepted.

Police Officer C: The Town of East Haven is currently seeking qualified

applicants to participate in the Civil Service Examination for the position

of Police Officers C. Qualified candidates shall meet the following mini-

mum requirements: must possess a valid Driver’s License; High School

Diploma or GED; must be 21 years of age and a

U. S. Citizen; possess a valid C.H.I.P. card; pass a physical examination;

polygraph test; psychological examination; background investigation in

addition to Civil Service testing. Ideal candidates shall not smoke or use

tobacco products of any kind and shall not have any visible tattoos. Candi-

dates who are hired must commit to a three year term in exchange for spon-

sorship through the Police Academy. Candidates bilingual in Spanish are

encouraged to apply. Salary is $50,382 per year and the town offers an

excellent benefit package. Deadline: July 18, 2016. Applications to par-

ticipate in the examination are available online at www.policeapp.com/

EastHavenCT. The Town of East Haven is committed to building a workforce

of diverse individuals. Minorities, Females, Handicapped and Veterans

are encouraged to apply.

Town of BloomfieldEntry Level Police Officer

$66,657For details and how to apply, go to

www.bloomfieldct.org.

Pre-employment drug testing. AA/EOE

Civil Engineer – Town of Manchester$65,486.53 – 40 hrs./wk.

CLOSING DATE: Friday, July 1, 2016

Call HR Recruitment Line at (860) 647-3170 for info or

view website: http://hrd1.townofmanchester.org.

Director of Planning and Economic

Development – Town of Manchester

$82,531.00 – $140,505.00

CLOSING DATE: Friday, July 15, 2016

Call HR Recruitment Line at (860) 647-3170 for info or

view website: http://hrd1.townofmanchester.org.

Environmental Cross-Connection

Technician – Town of Manchester

$54,278.21

Must obtain cert. as Backflow Preventer Tester and

a Cross Connection Survey Inspector within 1 year

of employment. Some water utility exp.req.

CLOSING DATE: Friday, July 1, 2016

Call HR Recruitment Line at (860) 647-3170 for info or

view website: http://hrd1.townofmanchester.org.

Junior Construction Inspector –Town of Manchester

Performs Call Before You Dig mark outs of Town-owned water, sanitary sewer, traffic and electric

facilities.

$52,404.75 – 40 hrs./wk.

CLOSING DATE: Friday, July 1, 2016

Call HR Recruitment Line at (860) 647-3170 for info orview website: http://hrd1.townofmanchester.org.

JOB OPENINGS AT COMMON GROUND!Please visit http://commongroundct.org/get-involved/join-our-staff.

Water Treatment Plant Operator – Town of Manchester

$49,016.24Applicants with water/sewer treatment, maintenance or

mechanical experience preferred. CLOSING DATE: July 1, 2016

Call HR Recruitment Line at (860) 647-3170 for info or view website:LINK “http://hrd1.townofmanchester.org”http://hrd1.townofmanchester.org.

34

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S J

un

e 2

7, 2

01

6 -

Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6

ClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifiedsPLACING AN AD EASY

203 387-0354BUSINESS HOURS - MONDAY FRIDAY 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM - 50 FITCH NEW HAVEN CT, 06515 - Career/Education/Training • Bid• L egal and Public Notices • Health Care • Real Estate • Professional

Connecticut’s First Choice For Urban News Since1990

Inner-CityTheInner-CityNews ClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifiedsClassifieds

Legal NoticeRequest for Qualifications/ Proposals

For

Design Build Construct Services ForArea Cooperative Educational Services (ACES)

Early Head Start Program Playground

300 Washington St. Middletown, Ct.

Issue date: 06/24/2016

ACES PROJECT NUMBER:Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES) is requesting Design-Build Proposals from

Qualified Experienced Contractors to construct a new playground for Infant/Toddlers and a

play area for ages 2- 6 at our Early Head Start facility located at 300 Washington Street,

Middletown, Ct. The scope of services is to provide all design- build- construct services for a

complete and functional age appropriate playground including all related administrative

services for all aspects of this project.

A pre-bid conference will be held at the site on June 29, 2016 at 2:30PM.

Copies of RFQ/P will be available June 24, 2016 The RFQ/P can be obtained athttp:1/www .aces.o rg/administration/ reguest-for-pro posa Is.

or by calling in a request to Tim Gunn at 203-498-6839 ACESProposals are to be submitted to:

Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES) 350 State StreetNorth Haven, Connecticut 06473-3018

Attention: Timothy Gunn, Director of Facilities

All Proposals shall be delivered by 2:30pm July2:30pm July2:30pm July2:30pm July2:30pm July 13,13,13,13,13, 2016.2016.2016.2016.2016.

Area Cooperative Educational Services is an equal opportunity employer who does not discriminate on the basis of race,

color, age, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, marital status, disability or sexual orientation.

35

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S Ju

ne

27

, 20

16

- July

10

, 20

16

36

INN

ER

-CIT

Y N

EW

S J

un

e 2

7, 2

01

6 -

Ju

ly 1

0, 2

01

6