by | Jun 8, 2024 9:17 am | Comments (1)
Christine Howe photo
The Baltimore Oriole apparently doesn’t mind if you root for other American League teams.
One recent afternoon, a chorus of songbirds stirred me from a catnap on a backyard chaise.
Continue reading ‘Our Little Chickadees: New Haven's Singing Therapists’
by | Jun 7, 2024 11:09 am | Comments (3)
HAL 9000 Photo
Note: Answers sort of appear at the bottom of this story along with links to relevant news stories from the past week.
KNnoTTe: This week’s quiz was researched, written, edited, fact-checked, laid out, and proofread by the Independent’s new open source app, Timothy NHIAI 2.0. No human labor was involved.
1. Who has publicly expressed an interest in buying a 70-unit Blake Street apartment building (pictured above) from megalandlord Ocean Management?
A. Beehives buzz this time of year
B. Mandy Management
C. Housing Authority of New Haven
D. The building’s tenants union
E. Olive oil is an effective cure for liver cancer according to the American Medical Association
Continue reading ‘New Haven Newz Quiz (AI-pocalypse edition)’
by | Jun 3, 2024 2:14 pm | Comments (15)
Maya McFadden file Photo
Paras speaking up at a recent school board meeting.
The following opinion essay was submitted by Ashley Stockton, a New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) teacher and parent and city resident who currently teaches kindergarten at Truman School.
by | May 31, 2024 12:57 pm | Comments (0)
Paul Bass Photo
Note: Answers appear at the bottom of this story along with links to relevant news stories from the past week.
1. What is Mayor Justin Elicker eating in the photo, and why?
A. Claire Corner Copia’s Soy Bacon BLT, to celebrate National Vegan Sandwich Week
B. Geronimo Tequila Bar and Southwest Grill’s Santa Fe Grilled Cheese (with real bacon), to take a break from City Hall meetings
C. Louis’ Lunch’s hamburger, to celebrate National Hamburger Day
D. Sandra’s Next Generation’s Catfish Sandwich, to celebrate National Soul Food Month
E. Haven Hot Chicken’s “THE Sandwich,” on an episode of The Food Network’s “Best Bite In Town”
by | May 24, 2024 11:05 am | Comments (0)
Note: Answers appear at the bottom of this story along with links to relevant news stories from the past week.
1. Where was Mayor Elicker dining in the photo at right?
A. Domino’s on Whalley Avenue
B. Pepe’s on Wooster Street
C. Pepe’s in Norwalk
D. Pepe’s in Alexandria
E. Pepe’s in Montville
F. Pepe’s in Danbury
G. Pepe’s in West Hartford
by | May 17, 2024 10:39 am | Comments (0)
Thomas Breen Photo
Note: Answers appear at the bottom of this story along with links to relevant news stories from the past week.
1. What are Police Chief Karl Jacobson and homeless organizer Billy Bromage discussing in the above photo?
A. Whether the police department has any openings for community outreach workers
B. Whether officers would block traffic on Edgewood Avenue to allow for a march for affordable housing
C. Plans to set up a tent encampment on the Green
D. Whether Bromage has contraband on his person
E. Where to buy leak-proof rain gear
F. Rumors about HBO reviving The Wire for a sixth season
by | May 10, 2024 12:15 pm | Comments (1)
Maya McFadden Photos
Note: Answers appear at the bottom of this story along with links to relevant news stories from the past week.
1. What is Mayor Justin Elicker doing in the above photo?
A. Mixing a scotch whiskey-cream soda cocktail at a $200-a-ticket fundraiser for his 2025 reelection campaign
B. Demonstrating his “What Makes Fizz?” contribution at the ESUMS Science Fair
C. Playing the role of Lumière the maître d’ in an A Broken Umbrella staging of Beauty & The Beast
D. Rehydrating the competitors at an SCSU women’s gymnastics match
E. Serving an ice cream float at a teacher appreciation event at Fair Haven School
by | May 3, 2024 9:30 am | Comments (0)
Lisa Reisman photo
Note: Answers appear at the bottom of this story, along with links to relevant news stories from the past week.
1. The man pictured above is nicknamed the “Meat Stylist.” Who is he, and why is he in the news?
A. Niles Finnegan; he launched a franchise of “bespoke lamb products” out of a James Street warehouse
B. Jason Sobocinski; he introduced a “bacon bagel melt” menu item at Olmo on Trumbull Street
C. Ken Henson; bassist and lead songwriter on the new EP release “Shred To The Bone” by the local metal band Carnal Carnage
D. Nathaniel Bradshaw; chef and coach of Wilbur Cross High School’s culinary team, which won a state competition
E. Jimmy Apuzzo; he’s retiring after working as a beloved butcher and owner of the market at 721 Orange St. for 56 years
by | Apr 30, 2024 8:24 am | Comments (2)
Rainbow or Bach, that is the question...
by | Apr 26, 2024 11:00 am | Comments (0)
Dereen Shirnekhi Photo
Note: Answers appear at the bottom of this story, along with links to relevant news stories from the past week.
1. What was happening in the above photo?
A. A Hill Central student was competing a “Squeeze & Guess The Veggie” contest sponsored by Gather New Haven
B. Neighbors were contributing written “prayers for a peaceful world” into a bowl for a project sponsored by the Sweet Dream Society
C. A lottery conducted by municipal government’s Livable City Initiative to choose a buyer for a two-family home on Howard Avenue
D. A trust exercise conducted by Up With People at a community cookout held on Spring Street
by | Apr 19, 2024 11:03 am | Comments (0)
Laura Glesby Photo
Note: Answers appear at the bottom of this story, along with links to relevant news stories from the past week.
1. Who is pictured above and why was he in the news this week?
A. William Randolph of A Broken Umbrella Theatre Co., who starred in a production of The Grinch
B. Sandy McLain, who was named the new city vital statistics registrar
C. Legal aid attorney Rich Kuby, who defended immigrant workers in an eviction case in housing court
D. Painting/power washing co. President and Fair Haven landlord Mark DeFrancesco, who succeeded in court in pressing an eviction against two of his immigrant worker/tenants who got injured on the job
E. Wilson Woodworth, the “mystery” lender who tried to hide his identity while giving $12.25 million in loans to New Haven “nonprofit” housing corporations run by imprisoned sex offender Rabbi Daniel Greer
F. Actor Jim Carrey, who made a surprise visit to a class at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School
by | Apr 12, 2024 11:39 am | Comments (0)
Maya McFadden Photo
Note: Answers appear at the bottom of this story, along with links to relevant news stories from the past week.
1. What were the above-pictured Jepson School students drawing?
A. Diagrams for an after-school “Early Jump On Geometry” enrichment program
B. Imagined ideas for new New Haven apizza specialties as part of an after-school art class
C. Pictures of the soon-to-begin solar eclipse at an after-school watch gathering
D. Faces of their favorite recording artists at an outdoor “music & pictures” class
E. Non-representational pictures at a “free art” contest at which SCSU students served as judges
by | Apr 8, 2024 12:33 pm | Comments (1)
Joan Marcus / Thomas Breen file photos
The sidewalk critics proclaimed the writer's antics as "somewhat entertaining" but "more than a little pathetic."
On a recent Saturday, a minor miracle and impromptu theatrics occurred on Chapel Street.
And, If you have nothing else to do for the next few minutes, I’ll deliver here the particulars.
by | Apr 5, 2024 1:53 pm | Comments (0)
Maya McFadden Photo
Note: Answers appear at the bottom of this story, along with links to relevant news stories from the past week.
1. What were Janae Nelson, AJ Young, and Jackie Fulton doing in class at Wilbur Cross when photographed above?
A. Organizing a fundraiser for an April-break trip to Costa Rica
B. Planning a petition drive for expanded AP classes
C. Teaching class as part of an educator-career-path program
D. Counseling classmates in trouble as part of a restorative justice program
E. Moderating a debate on the merits of a district-wide cellphone ban
by | Mar 29, 2024 1:33 pm | Comments (1)
Thomas Breen Photo
Note: Answers appear at the bottom of this story, along with links to relevant news stories from the past week.
1. The Elicker administration offered to pay a megalandlord company more than the appraised value to buy four blighted out-of-code-compliance buildings on Dixwell Avenue rather than pursue foreclosure. What happened next?
A. The megalandlord paid off years of fines and kept the properties
B. The deal went through but renovations haven’t started yet
C. The deal went through and renovations have begun
D. The city botched a lien process, then the whole deal fell apart
E. Flooding destroyed the buildings, putting the deal on hold
by | Mar 28, 2024 12:50 pm | Comments (12)
(Warning: A photo at the end of this article is not for the squeamish.)
We figured a mouse trap would do the trick.
We underestimated Scampy.
by | Mar 28, 2024 9:46 am | Comments (4)
Contributed Photo
Mending Minyan's Purim party.
This article was submitted by members of Mending Minyan.
(Opinion) The wicked prime minister Haman was hoisted by his own petard, or at least hung by his own gallows, for approximately the 2,500th straight year at Bregamos Community Theater last Friday.
Continue reading ‘Opinion: Purim Party Felt Different This Year’
by | Mar 22, 2024 1:06 pm | Comments (0)
Note: Answers appear at the bottom of this story, along with links to relevant news stories from the past week.
1. Where was the above-pictured item purchased this week, what did it cost, and what is it?
A. Witch Bitch Thrift, $4.50, candy container
B. Witch Bitch Thrift, $11, paperweight
C. Family Dollar, $1, teapot
D. Family Dollar, $3, planting pot
E. Atticus Bookstore Cafe, $8, Babar promo
F. Peabody Museum gift shop, $15, not sure (decoration?)
by | Mar 21, 2024 2:00 pm | Comments (27)
Dear fellow New Haven drivers,
Slow. Down.
by | Mar 18, 2024 12:08 pm | Comments (3)
Bo Sandine with a signature gin and tonic in 116 Crown heaven.
The illuminated bar. The welcoming, gorgeous garden in the back. The carefully crafted cocktails, which were worth the extra time they took. Over its now-ended 17-year run, 116 Crown was a singular sensation.
by | Mar 15, 2024 12:29 pm | Comments (0)
Nora Grace-Flood Photo
Note: Answers appear at the bottom of this story, along with links to relevant news stories from the past week.
1. Why does Jim Blau drive every day from Milford to a Trinity Lutheran Church-owned property on New Haven’s Orange Street?
A. To pray at the vespers service
B. To make repairs on tenants’ flooded apartments
C. To feed his cat left behind in an unrepaired flooded church-owned apartment for 35 days while Blau lives in a pet-free Milford hotel
D. To inspect work on repairs of flooded apartments
by | Mar 13, 2024 11:02 am | Comments (29)
A New Haven-made carriage popular among Southern slave owners.
William Grimes escaped slavery on a ship from Savannah to New York, then walked to Connecticut. He published his autobiography months after he purchased his freedom.
(Opinion) Inside the New Haven Museum, I asked the greeter at the front desk about the reaction of visitors to the new exhibition.
“Many are shocked,” she said. “They had no idea.”
The exhibit, “Shining a Light on Truth: New Haven, Yale, and Slavery,” shows how the Elm City profited from America’s greatest shame, even depended on it, and when a chance came to right a wrong its leaders disgraced themselves further.
Continue reading ‘New Haven, Yale, and Slavery: The Real Story’
by | Mar 8, 2024 12:14 pm | Comments (0)
Maya McFadden Photo
Note: Answers appear at the bottom of this story, along with links to relevant news stories from the past week.
1. What was Mayor Justin Elicker doing in the above picture?
A. Registering King/Robinson students to vote in the upcoming Democratic presidential primary
B. Playing “I Spy with My Eye” with Hill Central students
C. Drawing with Edgewood students during a visit by a touring art-museum bus
D. Quizzing a Worthington Hooker student on how to spell “I love art” during a school assembly
E. Playing hooky from City Hall
by | Mar 8, 2024 11:15 am | Comments (11)
Nora Grace-Flood Photo
Rolling up a mattress before bulldozers come in to demolish a Lamberton Street homeless encampment.
As executive director of New Haven’s Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen (DESK) and drop-in center, Steve Werlin has seen firsthand the state’s “historic” rise in homelessness. He told state legislators about that — to urge them to find extra money this year to help front-line agencies like his save lives and work toward solutions.
by | Mar 1, 2024 10:26 am | Comments (0)
Paul Bass Photo
Note: Answers appear at the bottom of this story along with links to relevant news stories from the past week.
1) Where did the above-pictured politicians show up, and why?
A) A block from Cast Iron Grille, to attend a fundraiser for UNITE HERE-backed Democratic ward co-chair primary candidates
B) On a Jaigantic Studios lot on River Street, to film a MADD-sponsored DUI-prevention public-service announcement
C) Underneath an I‑91 underpass, to herald the beginning of a new-urbanist road-renovation project
D) Outside Erector Square, to finalize picks for a 2024 MLB fantasy league competition
E) At the former Church Street South, to act as cameo extras in the filming of an NHPD Blues pilot