Downtown

Tech Hub's Grand Opening Celebrates Less Carbon, More Innovation

by | Nov 10, 2023 9:48 am | Comments (11)

Thomas Breen photo

Cool Amps' Lonnie Garris III and Nick Anderson, with their company's "laminar flow extraction module" prototype.

Retired Air Force colonel and eco-entrepreneur Lonnie Garris III returned to his home city Thursday evening to help show that the path to a climate-friendlier future — and a less carbon-intensive means of recycling lithium-ion batteries — goes through Chapel Street.

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Shubert Opens Broadway Season With Hope

by | Nov 10, 2023 9:00 am | Comments (2)

Contributed photo

From the Shubert production of Come From Away.

A bus driver has brought a busload full of stranded airline passengers to a camp in Newfoundland, in the middle of the night. The passengers don’t really know why they’re there, and many of them are scared. When they arrive at the camp, the first passengers in line don’t want to get off the bus, and they don’t speak English. The bus driver doesn’t know how to get through to them. Then he notices that one of them is holding a Bible, and he knows his Bible. He flips the pages to Philippians 4:6: Be anxious for nothing,” the verse begins. He points to the page. The passengers read it, and understand.

And that’s how we started speaking the same language,” the actors address the audience.

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Wanted: Public Input On 2-Way Street Conversion Proposals

by | Nov 9, 2023 9:31 am | Comments (41)

Thomas Breen file photo

Church near Elm: Two-way street approacheth?

The city’s transit department is moving ahead with plans to convert a handful of downtown streets from one-way to two-way — and is seeking public input before deciding how many parking spots should remain on George Street, where protected bike lanes should go on York, and whether or not to place a Bus Rapid Transit lane in the middle of Church Street.

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Artists Lead The Narrative In "Voir Dire" Exhibition

by | Nov 8, 2023 11:14 am | Comments (0)

Cal Bocicault

It's Gotta Be the Shoes.

The two men in Cal Bocicault’s painting are, first and foremost, stylish, and they know it. Peering askance at the viewer, colors coordinated with themselves and each other, together they open the shoeboxes on their laps. The shoeboxes themselves become classic MacGuffins. We have no idea what’s in the boxes. For all we know, the boxes are empty. But maybe they’re not. Maybe they contain the most stylish sneakers we’ve ever seen, footwear that elevates all the clothes around it. The important thing is that the two men can see what we can’t. They know what’s in the boxes. They’re just not telling us.

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Voters Unfazed By Charter Changes

by , and | Nov 7, 2023 2:08 pm | Comments (11)

Nora Grace-Flood photo

Cody Uman, in Ward 21: Voting yes on 4-year terms.

Thomas Breen photo

Outside the Conte West Hills polling place on Chapel St.

(Updated and corrected) Cody Uman, an undergraduate math major at Yale, was running late to class Tuesday after setting aside an extra hour to research the proposed changes to the city’s charter and bike over to King-Robinson School to cast his vote in Ward 21, which covers parts of Newhallville, Dixwell and Prospect Hill.

He said he was voting yes” on the ballot measure in favor of four-year terms for all elected officials and increased salaries for the city’s alders to make sure they’re better compensated for their time.”

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"Downtown For All" Visions Compete In Alder Race

by | Nov 3, 2023 10:41 am | Comments (11)

Thomas Breen file photos

Republican challenger Dave Agosta and Democratic incumbent Eli Sabin, both running for Ward 7 alder.

The quest for denser and more affordable housing, safer streets, smoother sidewalks, and a more accessible city for people with disabilities is driving this year’s contested alder race in East Rock/Downtown’s Ward 7 — along with online messages from the aldermanic challenger that made unsupported accusations of attempted murder and intimidation,” some of which he called satirical,” some sincere.

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Art Exhibition Unveils The Horror Beneath The Horror

by | Nov 3, 2023 8:52 am | Comments (0)

Joan Fitzsimmons

The Woods.

Joan Fitzsimmons’s images both beckon viewers and warn them about what’s in store in the Institute Library’s upstairs gallery. The hands, in part because of their visual treatment, feel iconic, perhaps from an old horror movie. But what are they doing? Are they trapped? Are they casting a spell? Are these the hands of a prisoner, or is the owner of those hands doing the manipulating?

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Hostage Crisis Touches New Haven At Broadway Memorial

by | Nov 1, 2023 3:31 pm | Comments (3)

Ben Silvert and Andrea Weinstein with a photo of Andrea's sister and brother-in-law, Judih and Gad.

Andrea Weinstein’s sister Judih is a person of peace. She’s vegan and loves teaching English and making puppets for the children on the southern Israel kibbutz where she has lived with her husband Gad Haggai, a musician and chef. She cherishes the collectivist living the kibbutz afforded her family, writes haikus to calm herself and others, and is critical of the right-wing Netanyahu government.

That life collapsed on Oct. 7, when Judih and Gad were two of hundreds of Israelis either kidnapped or gone missing in a cross-border terrorist attack waged by Hamas.

Andrea showed up in downtown New Haven Wednesday calling attention to her sister’s and brother-in-law’s plight as she desperately seeks information.

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LIFFY 2023 Takes "An Honest Look"

by | Oct 31, 2023 2:05 pm | Comments (0)

Karen Ponzio Photos

One of the photos of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo by Eduardo Longoni.

The Latino and Iberian Film Festival at Yale — a.k.a. LIFFY — commenced Monday night with a screening of the documentary film Una Mirada Honesta/An Honest Look, the story of Argentinian photographer Eduardo Longoni and his iconic images that changed history. It was a fitting way to begin the festival’s 14th year, as it has become known for its provocative and passionate presentation of films that open viewers’ eyes and hearts with stories often left untold elsewhere. 

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NHSO Makes Time For Three

by | Oct 31, 2023 8:09 am | Comments (1)

Time for Three.

In introducing Thursday Night’s New Haven Symphony Orchestra program in Woolsey Hall, Music Director Alisdair Neale cut to the chase. Both these works feature a lot of art — without artifice,” he said, referencing their emotional immediacy. The program, featuring Grammy-winning trio Time for Three as something along the lines of a group of concerto-grosso soloists, featured two works by American composers, both of which presented a more romantic vision of orchestral music.

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The Challengers Unite Over Yale-Deal Critique

by | Oct 30, 2023 4:52 pm | Comments (15)

Laura Glesby photo

Mayoral opponents / allies Wendy Hamilton and Tom Goldenberg, with a poster designed by Bill Saunders.

At a joint press conference on Monday, mayoral challengers Tom Goldenberg and Wendy Hamilton agreed on what they wouldn’t do if elected mayor — namely, they wouldn’t sell” a block of High Street to Yale University.

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New Book Explores Secret Life Of Monsters

by | Oct 26, 2023 2:59 pm | Comments (0)

Brian Slattery Photos

Patrick Scalisi and Valerie Ruby-Omen.

New Haven and Connecticut overall have a vibrant history, from the indigenous cultures that flourished here, to the religious zealots that founded the New Haven Colony, to the creation of the modern city as we know it in the 20th century. Weaving in and out of that is a folklore that includes sea serpents in the Long Island Sound, monsters in the woods in Winsted, Hamden, and elsewhere, and dragons in Fair Haven. All these and more are chronicled in Connecticut Cryptids: A Field Guide to the Weird and Wonderful Creatures of the Nutmeg State, written by Patrick Scalisi and illustrated by Valerie Ruby-Omen. The duo celebrated the book’s release with a party at Strange Ways this weekend, in which partygoers were invited to dress as their favorite fanciful creatures.

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Recycling Talk Sorts Through The Confusion

by | Oct 25, 2023 12:01 pm | Comments (1)

Nora Grace-Flood file photo

Recycling do's and don'ts, clarified at library talk.

You can recycle the thick cardboard container that soup stock comes in when you buy it at the store, but you can’t recycle ice cream containers. You can recycle plastics in the shape of containers, but not a toy made out of the same kind of plastic. You can recycle pizza boxes — but not paper plates.

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3 Pastors Blast Safe-Injection Sites

by | Oct 24, 2023 9:00 am | Comments (59)

Thomas Breen photo

Pastors Cesar Padilla, Teresa Rivera, and Miguel Castro: Each overcame addiction "when the Lord Jesus came in our lives."

Three pastors and a mayoral challenger took to the steps of City Hall to criticize the Elicker administration for even considering establishing a safe-use injection site downtown — with the clergy arguing that spirituality is the best balm for addiction, and the Republican candidate claiming that city government is further along in such a plan than it has made itself out to be.

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Drama School Tackles Modern Take On The "A"

by | Oct 24, 2023 8:53 am | Comments (1)

Brian Slattery Photo

Advertisement outside University Theater.

A small town in a small country in the middle of nowhere,” where abortionists are tolerated but forced to wear clothes that reveal the scarlet A seared to their flesh, where there are more people in prison than aren’t, where sex workers can sell exclusive rights to their persons to the highest or most powerful bidder, where hunters run down anyone accused of anything and submit them to vicious forms of torture, for money and amusement. Is this fiction or simply a slight exaggeration of current tendencies?

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YUAG Art Show Turns The Numbers Back Into People

by | Oct 20, 2023 8:55 am | Comments (0)

Sarah Goodridge

Rose Prentice (1771-1852).

Prentice looks like a no-nonsense woman. The depiction of her is simple, but it appears to capture some of her essential nature. Prentice looks smart, curious, and strong. But she also looks a little tired, like she’s been carrying a lot of weight. That she can bear it doesn’t make it any less heavy.

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Solo Artists Band Together At ECOCA

by | Oct 19, 2023 9:34 am | Comments (0)

Among the digital video detritus of Kit Young’s installation at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art is a cracked screen with a sign rarely seen in a gallery: Please touch.” With the first hesitant brush of a finger, there’s almost no effect. But press a little harder, and the cracks bloom with almost bioluminescent patterns. Whether this effect is something Young designed or discovered is beside the point. In pressing into the screen, the viewer has helped make the art happen —even if, just as quickly, it starts to fade.

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250 Rally For Palestine, Ceasefire

by and | Oct 18, 2023 4:53 pm | Comments (65)

Thomas Breen photos

At Wednesday's rally on Elm Street ...

... outside of U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro's office.

Roughly 250 Jewish New Haveners and their allies rallied on the steps of City Hall and then outside of U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s office downtown calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. 

They also demanded that their elected officials speak out to end America’s military support of what speaker after speaker termed a genocidal” war against Palestinians in Gaza — in the latest example of how New Haveners are trying to interpret and reckon with the ongoing bloodshed in the Middle East.

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Climate Activist On Tap To Be Next Ward 1 Alder

by | Oct 18, 2023 8:34 am | Comments (15)

Thomas Breen file photo

Kiana Flores, at a 2019 climate rally outside City Hall.

As a Co-Op high school student, Kiana Flores helped convince the Board of Alders to pass a climate emergency resolution.

As a Yale college student, she’ll soon have a chance to put such eco-friendly policy priorities into practice — after she runs unopposed to become the next alder representing downtown’s Ward 1.

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New Haven Academy Stages "Paradise"

by | Oct 17, 2023 8:49 am | Comments (2)

Brian Slattery Photos

Jeremiah McCullough, Christopher Samuels, Azaad Mamoon.

All through the play Paradise Blue by Dominique Morisseau — running at New Haven Academy from Oct. 19 to Oct.21 — trumpeter Blue struggles with his music. He’s trying to play just the right note. Some days he gets close. Some days he’s a million miles away. But he’s starting to think he’s never going to get it. It’s an encapsulation of the conditions of his life, the way everything he has is starting to slip away from him. And it’s driving him a little crazy.

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Regina Winters-Toussaint To Be Inducted Posthumously Into CT Women’s Hall of Fame

by | Oct 12, 2023 4:00 pm | Comments (2)

Regina Winters-Toussaint.

While a student at the Yale School of Architecture in 1992, Regina Winters-Toussaint created her own summer internship. As one of the first counselors for LEAP, then a new youth enrichment program in New Haven, she moved into Westville Manor public housing, where she mentored the young people living there.

That willingness to steep herself in the experience of those who would live and work in the structures she built is among the reasons for the induction of Winters-Toussaint, who died of cancer at 47 in April 2016, in the CT Women’s Hall of Fame, according to its executive director Sarah Lubarsky. 

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TV Girl Broadcasts To The "Freaky Little Teenagers"

by | Oct 12, 2023 8:51 am | Comments (0)

Asher Joseph photo

The TV Girl All-Star Traveling Band.

A line snaked around Toad’s Place into the courtyard off of York Street on Monday evening as Lonely Girls” and boys who act their age” filed into the venue, headlined by TV Girl, a California-based indie pop band that took the internet by storm this year with a series of viral hits.

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Sage Smoke Wafts Over Indigenous Peoples' Day Ceremony

by | Oct 10, 2023 4:51 pm | Comments (0)

Maya McFadden photos

Norm Clement uses sage to cleanse attendees of negative energies.

Monday’s Indigenous Peoples' Day cultural celebration on the New Haven Green.

Sage smoke, traditional dancing, and a prayer of the four directions” filled the Green Monday afternoon as dozens gathered for an annual ceremony honoring Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

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