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New Haven Independent
This Time, Bedroom-Boosting Plan OK’d
A plan to build new bedrooms atop a derelict Winchester Avenue home’s backyard won approval the second time around — after calls for more, quality housing beat out concerns about neighborhood change. The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) took that unanimous vote Tuesday night during its latest monthly...
From Rent-A-Car To Rent-An-Apartment
A vacant former Crown Street car rental center is slated to become two new apartments — after the landlord’s attorney explained that now is not the best financial time to knock down the commercial structure and build a big new building in its stead. The Board of Zoning...
100s Rally For “Strike Ready” Hotel Workers
Hundreds of protesters filled a downtown block on Yale’s move-in day to throw their support behind Omni Hotel workers who are ready to strike, if necessary, as they bargain for better pay, healthcare, and pensions in a new contract. That was the scene Sunday afternoon on a stretch of...
“Who Are We?” “Venezuela!”
Krisly Carreno teared up as she spotted dozens of yellow-blue-and-red flags on the backs of protesters while she walked down Church Street. “It was so emotional,” Carreno said. “I had no idea how many Venezuelans [are] in Connecticut.”. Carreno joined over 100 fellow protesters Saturday evening outside...
Delegate Dunleavy: There’s Work To Do In Chicago
Chicago — New Haven’s Marty Dunleavy can be counted on to cheer when the Democratic Party formally christens the Harris-Walz presidential ticket here this week. He and fellow delegates will have lots of less glamorous work to do before that. So Dunleavy said Sunday as he and other...
Elm Shakespeare Kicks Off “Glorious Summer”
Elm Shakespeare Company’s production of Richard III — running in Edgerton Park now through Sept. 1 — opens on a scene of warfare, complete with smoke, red lighting, and clashing swords. Then it transitions into a party, with swirling ribbons and joyful dancing. The titular Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Lisa Wolpe) feels much more at home in the former scene than in the latter. “Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace / Have no delight to pass away the time,” Richard proclaims bitterly. This is the key to his entire character, and in some senses, the play itself.
All Eyes Were (Are) On Chicago
I don’t remember all that happened when I camped with other young antiwar protesters outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. I do remember — as the nation is remembering now on the eve of next week’s Democratic National Convention — that young antiwar protesters assembled there to try to stop an unjust war, and ended up being attacked by rioting police officers on national television, while the Democratic Party tried unsuccessfully to rally around a last-minute change in who ran for president.
Heidi Dawidoff, 86
Heidi Dawidoff, 86, a legendary New Haven high school teacher, died peacefully on August 13, 2024, at her home in Francestown, New Hampshire, where she lived for her final 24 years. Maria Gerschenkron, known to all as Heidi, was born on October 23, 1937, in Vienna, the second daughter of...
Yondr Go Cellphones In Schools?
Metropolitan Business Academy rising junior Bayan Albakkour thinks that Yondr cellphone pouches — a method for creating phone-free spaces that some New Haven schools are adopting — are a good idea to help students focus on class by hiding a key source of distraction. Her best friend, meanwhile,...
4,000+ Turn Out For Back-To-School Rally
Backpacks, popsicles, children’s books, and a $4,500 college scholarship were all on hand at Bowen Field as New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) prepared families for the first day of classes in less than two weeks. That was the scene at NHPS’ annual back to school rally held at Bowen...
Semira Set Up For Success Back At School
Despite Thursday’s high-90 degree temperatures, Felicia Scott and her daughter’s goddaughter Semira Estep waded through the crowd at Bowen Field as they exchanged memories and educational wisdom in preparation for New Haven Public Schools’ first day back. Semira, 6, is a rising second grader at Barnard Environmental...
Photographers Make Life Into Art
Sarah Groate’s photographs, Duke’s Arrival and Waiting at The Rainbow Bridge, married two of her great loves: photography and horses. Groate works at the CT Draft Horse Rescue, and she uses the horses there as both inspiration and the subjects of her art. “I just found that I loved photographing them,” she said. “They’re the true gentle giants.”
GOP Primary Turnout Plummets To 6%
Angela Hatley woke up at three in the morning, and at 4:30 a.m. she arrived to set up the Betsy Ross School polling place. She then spent the following 16 hours waiting for a grand total of one voter to cast a ballot in Tuesday’s Republican primary. Hatley, an...
Snake Hill Blues Gets Gritty
For the first time, WNHH’s Tuesdays @ the Mediterranea Cafe concert series featured a saxophone, a harmonica, and a golden trumpet — though the last wasn’t making any sound. That didn’t keep Snake Hill Blues lead singer Vaughn Collins from taking the miniature instrument from around his...
In Jaigantic’s Wake, Factory Plan Emerges
The site of a riverfront movie studio that never came to be is now slated to sprout a new housing-related manufacturer on a stretch of Fair Haven’s industrial waterfront. Spinnaker Real Estate Partners, one of New Haven’s busiest apartment builders, is pursuing that plan after spending $2.8 million to buy more than a half-dozen vacant properties once eyed to become Jaigantic Studios.
School Days Stymied By Some Students’ Misbehavior
Troup Principal Eugene Foreman finds that his daily responsibilities of being an instructional leader who makes visits to his K‑8 school’s classrooms are all too often derailed by the frequent acting out of a few students. He’s hoping the introduction this coming school year of phone pouches that...
Curry Goat, Oxtail, & A Dream Come True
Sandreen Fergusen, the owner of the Jamaican food truck Cool Runnings, has loved cooking since she was seven years old. Fergusen’s mother used to give her money to go buy snacks, and she opted instead to spend it on new ingredients — chicken, turkey legs, rice — to practice her culinary skills.
Yale Steps Towards High Street Conversion
Yale University undertook two weeks’ worth of underground utility “exploratory work” on High Street between Chapel and Elm — as it inched towards turning the downtown block into a pedestrian- and cyclist-only plaza, in line with a deal struck by the city more than two years ago.
Very Spicy Chicken, & 401(k)s
Haven Hot Chicken co-founder Craig Sklar ticked through the ways that the local Nashville-style fried chicken takeout restaurant strives to be a responsible employer in an industry too often beset by low pay and high turn-over. Hourly employees start out earning above minimum wage, plus tips. There are ample opportunities...
Looney To Tweed: Cool Your Jets
Commercial air service at Tweed-New Haven Airport is growing nearly as fast as an SST — too fast, in the opinion of one influential neighbor. That neighbor is Fort Hale Road resident Martin Looney. Who happens to run the State Senate. Like other longtime New Haveners, Looney has watched...
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