by | Apr 5, 2019 1:40 pm | Comments (5)
Sam Gurwitt Photo
CT 17th District Senator George Logan and his eggs and toast.
Orange juice and plate of eggs in hand, State Sen. George Logan listened as his constituents heaped an issue onto his plate — changing the way voters in Connecticut elects politicians like him.
by | Apr 2, 2019 2:28 pm | Comments (0)
Thomas Breen Photo
The Grand Avenue Bridge.
The State Bond Commission Tuesday OK’d sending New Haven $12.5 million toward the $25.5 million renovation of the Grand Avenue Bridge.
by | Apr 1, 2019 6:41 pm | Comments (37)
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Tweed Interim Executive Director Matthew Hoey delivers the news.
Christopher Peak photo
A second airline has all but committed to fly out of Tweed if the airport extends its current runway — which a bill before the state legislature would allow the airport to do.
Continue reading ‘Tweed Boss: We’ll Get Allegiant Air, If ...’
by | Mar 29, 2019 5:50 pm | Comments (19)
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State economic development Commissioner David Lehman and DISTRICT founder and CEO David Salinas.
Mayor Toni Harp, Lehman, and Salinas.
Connecticut’s newly confirmed economic development chief toured New Haven’s bustling “DISTRICT” tech campus Friday — and proclaimed he saw the future of the state’s economy.
by | Mar 28, 2019 7:43 am | Comments (0)
When many towns and cities across the state are reluctantly raising the property tax to make up for shortfalls from the state funding or unfunded or under-funded mandates are cutting into budgets, North Haven has remained fiscally solvent with a Triple‑A rating.
More than that, in a budget announced this week, First Selectman Michael Freda was able to propose a budget that included no increases in tax despite increased debt from bonding on projects coming due.
by | Mar 26, 2019 6:03 pm | Comments (9)
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Facebook photos
Carl Robert Talbot (right).
Robby Talbot was a poet. A teddy bear. An underground iconoclast with a penchant for psychedelics. Someone who struggled with mental health and substance abuse. Whose family tried and tried to help him navigate a circular network of court appearances and social service programs.
Talbot’s life ended abruptly in the shower of the Whalley Avenue jail. The people who knew and loved him have a hunch that the system, that society, let him down.
Continue reading ‘Clinics To Jail: Robby Talbot’s Hard Road’
by | Mar 25, 2019 7:46 am | Comments (8)
Carl Robert Talbot.
(Updated Sunday) How did an inmate die at the Whalley Avenue jail Thursday?
Continue reading ‘Family Of Inmate Who Died At Whalley Jail Says Mental Health System Failed Him’
by | Mar 20, 2019 8:03 am | Comments (27)
Thomas Breen photos
New Haven Uber and Lyft drivers lobbying in Hartford.
Uber’s 37 percent bite.
Uber and Lyft drivers are one big step closer to taking home a larger share of each ride’s pay thanks to a favorable committee vote in Hartford.
by | Mar 18, 2019 4:40 pm | Comments (1)
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Mary Kaye Holmes at Monday’s Van Jones-led forum.
Mary Kaye Holmes finally got to Quinnipiac University Monday, but not as a law school student as she had once hoped.
She came as a guest speaker to tell how she went from incarceration to New York Law School — and how Connecticut can help other “second chancers” as it weighs the next steps in criminal justice reform.
by | Mar 15, 2019 7:36 am | Comments (3)
Thomas Breen Photo
New Haven/Hamden State Rep. Robyn Porter, pictured at the Capitol, is tackling hiring gaps for teachers and adminsitrators of color.
While proposals that would nudge small school districts toward regionalization might have attracted the most attention at the Legislative Office Building this year, a slew of lesser-known education bills could change the way kids learn, from preschool all the way through college.
Continue reading ‘School Discipline, Racial Diversity Targeted’
by | Mar 14, 2019 4:24 pm | Comments (1)
IAN CHRISTMANN PHOTO
The Quinnipiac River: Soon to be a state wildlife refuge?
Local waterfowl can breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now, that a bill that would designate both the Quinnipiac River and the Mill River as wildlife refuges has won a key sign-off from a state legislative committee.
by | Mar 13, 2019 1:28 pm | Comments (12)
More money to educate students with limited English or learning disabilities. A curriculum that teaches kids about the U.S.‘s long history of racial discrimination. More time for children to play and for teens to sleep in.
New Haven has its eye on state bills that seek to create those outcomes.
Continue reading ‘At Stake: Recess, Special Ed, Black History’
by | Mar 11, 2019 7:43 am | Comments (10)
Noah Kim photo
Esther Armmand speaks with Looney & Paolillo.
East Siders got a chance to talk politics with their state representatives Saturday and offer their own solutions.
Continue reading ‘PILOT, Tolls On Menu At Looney-Paolillo Coffee Klatch’
by | Mar 8, 2019 3:00 pm | Comments (21)
Thomas Breen photo
New Haven Uber driver Edgar N. en route to state Capitol.
Edgar N. recently drove six college students from Toad’s Place to Fairfield. He earned $82 for the late-night, 26-mile ride. Uber pocketed another $49 from the same trip.
Edgar decided to wheel up to Hartford to demand that the actual laborers of the ride-share economy get a fairer share of earnings from such rides.
by | Mar 8, 2019 8:46 am | Comments (11)
Sam Gurwitt Photo
No justice? No peace! No racist police!
A crowd gathered Thursday afternoon outside of the Hamden Police Department in the icy chill to offer that chant and seek to take the “ICE” out of police.
Continue reading ‘Rally Backs Bill To Take “ICE” Out Of “Police”’
by | Mar 7, 2019 6:11 pm | Comments (33)
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Elliott testifying at Thursday’s hearing.
Josh Elliott Thursday urged state legislators to support a $15 hourly minimum wage.
But he didn’t do so in his role as Hamden state representative. He did so as a small business owner who believes that a higher minimum wage will cost him in the short term, but will boost the economy, and his store, in the long run.
Continue reading ‘Elliott: It’s Thyme & Season For $15 Wage’
by | Mar 6, 2019 1:22 pm | Comments (6)
Harry Droz photo
Rollin Cook (center) with Jeff Grant and Babz Rawls-Ivy.
When Rollin Cook started his career as a correctional officer in Utah 30 years ago, the criminal justice system prioritized handling inmates with force.
As the new head of Connecticut’s prison system, Cook plans to build off of his predecessor’s reform legacy by championing communication and rehabilitation rather than physical punishment for those behind bars, as well as anti-discrimination for the recently released.
by | Mar 4, 2019 8:45 am | Comments (13)
Christine Stuart Photo
Lehman testifying last week in Hartford.
A new online citizens’ petition drive aims to stop the confirmation of a “Wall Street hustler” Gov. Ned Lamont picked to serve as state economic development commissioner.
Continue reading ‘Grassroots Drive Targets Guv’s “Wall Street Hustler”’
by | Feb 28, 2019 6:07 pm | Comments (8)
Protesters march to the New Haven Superior Court.
On her lunch hour, Sotonye Otunba-Payne left her job and walked with her colleagues to New Haven Superior Court in a shirt reading “Integrity Matters.”
by | Feb 28, 2019 1:04 pm | Comments (20)
Thomas Breen photo
Transportation Chair Roland Lemar at Wednesday’s hearing.
Hartford — New Haven State Rep. Roland Lemar is taking a second swing at protecting “vulnerable users” — using newfound influence to try to fix flaws that prevented a previous law he authored from punishing reckless drivers who crash into pedestrians or cyclists.
by | Feb 28, 2019 8:35 am | Comments (4)
Thomas Breen photo
P3GM CEO Carlos Pujol shows off bikeshare’s electric scooters at a recent Board of Alders hearing.
Hartford—Electric scooters are coming to New Haven. With the right regulations in place ahead of time, their arrival might not spell chaos and confusion.
by | Feb 28, 2019 8:32 am | Comments (0)
Since Gov. Ned Lamont issued his first state budget proposal last week , there has been much talk around the water cooler about proposed new tolls and minimum wage hikes. If you ask state House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, that might be one of the best things about it.
by | Feb 26, 2019 8:46 am | Comments (3)
It won’t hurt. It won’t help.
by | Feb 25, 2019 3:10 pm | Comments (0)
CBD producers Matt Fastuca, Mike Simpson at hemp strategy session.
Fattie Roots pumps up the reggae at Saturday’s gathering.
Tinctures and textiles perched on tables around the room, a reggae band played, and the taps were flowing. Everything was in place to celebrate the launch of a new association for Connecticut’s emerging hemp industry — everything, that is, except for needed regulations.
by | Feb 25, 2019 8:40 am | Comments (11)
Sam Gurwitt Photo
State Rep. Josh Elliott: “We’ll be in the top tier.”
While many towns are reeling from the news that they may see a reduction in state aid this year, Hamden can be guardedly optimistic after hearing Gov. Ned Lamont’s budget proposal.
Continue reading ‘Hamden Reps Plug Lamont’s Town Aid Proposal’