by | Dec 24, 2011 7:12 pm | Comments (34)
Paul Bass Photo
Ex-cop Spell sparked 2011’s top neighborhood grassroots revival.
Shoots have sprung from the orchid bulbs above Stacy Spell’s kitchen sink.
“They’re not an easy flower,” Spell said. “They’re just so gorgeous. You’ve got to be consistent tending them.”
by | Oct 14, 2011 2:52 pm | Comments (18)
Thomas MacMillan Photo
From an upstairs window, Ian and Carolyn Christmann saw cops on the far bank of the river below, where a woman was frantically trying to stay afloat.
Ian’s wife turned to him. “They may need a boat. You should take yours.”
by | Oct 3, 2011 10:04 am | Comments (2)
Allan Appel File Photo
The late James Welbourne.
He could recite a five-page poem from memory. He helped a struggling immigrant learn to read and write in English, and others to pursue careers in the library system. He helped create a neighborhood library branch.
More than 100 friends and family of James Welbourne gathered at that outpost, the Courtland Seymour Wilson branch, to share those memories of a man who left an indelible mark on New Haven.
by | Jul 27, 2011 4:31 pm | Comments (13)
Thomas MacMillan Photo
The 911 caller was “freaking out.” Dispatcher Dave Mancini heard people in the background screaming over the unconscious 4‑year-old they’d just pulled from a swimming pool. He knew they had to act right away to save the boy’s life.
“Sir, help me help this child,” Mancini repeated calmly.
Continue reading ‘Dispatcher Honored For Saving Child’s Life’
by | Mar 21, 2011 7:21 am | Comments (20)
Allan Appel Photo
Across the street from a murder spot, Stacy Spell showed beginner Tyisha Walker how bishops move at an angle and castles along straight lines.
Continue reading ‘Retired Cop Looks To Checkmate W. River Crime’
by | Jan 17, 2011 1:07 pm | Comments (15)
Jack Paulishen Photo
“She was one of those quiet heroes that we have all across America. They’re not famous. Their names are not in newspapers, but each and every day they work hard. They aren’t seeking the limelight. All they try to do is just do the right thing.”
—President Obama remembering grandmother Madelyn Dunham.
At 6:30 a.m., I’m shoveling the mound of snow pushed in front of my driveway so I can go meet Herb Turner. “There is no way this guy is going to be there,” I thought to myself. “We just got 20 inches, the streets are barely passable, it’s 20 degrees out, and he’s 79 years old!”
by | Jun 17, 2010 11:30 am | Comments (4)
Melinda Tuhus Photo
Johnny Dye (left) with Vin DiLauro.
“Johnny” lives on Columbus Avenue, near Columbus Auto Body Works, Inc. The teen is just one Hill beneficiary of the generosity and commitment of the man who won a neighborhood organization’s first-ever Community Award Wednesday evening.
by | Jun 8, 2010 7:33 am | Comments (6)
Allan Appel Photo
He waited nearly 60 years to receive the combat medals he won in Korea. But the love and accolades of area Latino leaders for Celestino Cordova as the man on whose shoulders they stand meant every bit as much as the overdue honor from his days with a Puerto Rican combat unit.
by | May 31, 2010 8:26 am | Comments (0)
Jay Dockendorf Photo
Sixty-seven years later, Private First Class Frank Mitchell received an overdue honor for his service to his country.
by | Apr 12, 2010 12:33 pm | Comments (38)
Family Photo
Tywan was at a cook-out at a friend’s house. He walked to the mini-mart on Dixwell Avenue for a cigarette. He ran into someone he knew — and ended up shot at least four times.
Continue reading ‘After Killing, Sister Holds Family Together’
by | Feb 19, 2010 9:02 am | Comments (4)
Allan Appel Photo
Lloyd Seals has delivered an estimated 25 million pieces of mail in his 50 years as a New Haven postman. He’ll never forget the one a customer sent to him.
Continue reading ‘He Delivered 25 Million Letters—& Saved 1 Life’
by | Dec 25, 2009 9:38 am | Comments (56)
Rafael Ramos’s cell phone rang at midnight. A woman and her daughter were shivering in their apartment — punished, the woman said, for speaking out to their landlord about a leaky fridge.
by | Dec 1, 2008 12:21 pm | Comments (5)
“Wait a minute!” called out Leo Vigue, as decades of Rudy’s regulars presented their favorite bartender with a “Big Daddy” birthday cake.
by | May 13, 2008 8:01 am | Comments (4)
“When I handed down the cat, she went out like Superman,” said firefighter Dino Ferraro (pictured). A six-foot-tall woman had leapt out of the burning building, head-first down a ladder, and grabbed onto his waist.
by | Apr 10, 2008 12:10 pm | Comments (1)
This woman’s work bridges rich and poor, white and black and brown, old and young, the highly educated and the drop-out. It’s the most wonderful job in New Haven, she said, and she feels blessed to be doing it.
by | Feb 18, 2008 8:13 am | Comments (6)
She knew how to listen — and she made a difference. Upon her retirement, an original “community” cop heard stories about how she was a true pioneer.
by | Feb 13, 2008 1:21 pm | Comments (1)
Jerome Lorde was dressed to look like someone accustomed to daily pick-up basketball games and prodigious amounts of Gatorade. He was on a larger mission, though, one harder to measure than the points in a hoops contest.
by | Jan 4, 2008 9:20 am | Comments (10)
In a deep freeze, Rafael Ramos comes to the rescue.
by | Nov 14, 2007 4:28 pm | Comments (2)
Principal Mary Suroweicki was in a meeting Wednesday talking about how well her students behave, when secretary Maria Moore broke in. Come quick, Moore said: There’s a fight upstairs
by | Nov 14, 2007 8:26 am | Comments (0)
Firefighter Lt. Andrew Campion and Police Lt. Joseph Streeto (pictured) received standing ovations as they accepted the awards for police officer and firefighter of the year.
by | Dec 21, 2006 12:31 pm | Comments (3)
In a year when shootings left New Haveners feeling despair about how to address youth violence, Dixwell beat cop Shafiq Abdussabur offered inspiration. How he got to be a cop — and in a position to make a difference — offers another inspiring tale, about how to build a true “community policing” force.
by | Nov 8, 2006 9:38 am | Comments (2)
“All you saw was the hands, shaking.” The Rivera brothers realized there was a burning man inside the burning car.
by | Oct 19, 2006 1:56 pm | Comments (0)
Eight-year-old Shayla White found her grandmother unconscious. She kept her composure — and kept grandma alive.
by | Aug 24, 2006 1:23 pm | Comments (1)
Officer David Runlett kept a cold wet cloth with him to stay cool on a blistering afternoon of traffic duty. Little did he know that it would help him save the life of an 18 month-old baby.
by | Jun 18, 2006 7:04 pm | Comments (1)
The voices of gospel filtered down Dickerman Street Sunday morning. They came from the small wood-panelled sanctuary of one-story Mt. Zion Pentecostal Church, where 13 scattered bodies cooled themselves with paper fans, clapped their hands, and sang along with two women and a man playing a five-string electric bass.
Lord, make us one! they sang.
Lord make us one!
Lord make us one every day!