21-year New Haven Sunday Vigil Paused Until Further Notice Due to Covid-19

Ponder this: in a crisis of this magnitude, there aren’t close to enough ventilators and
other medical supplies including personal protective equipment to go around. The federal
government and the hospitals are talking about rationing health care. As always, the
elderly, poor, disabled and otherwise vulnerable are the ones whose lives will be
sacrificed first.

Yet the military manufacturers remain open, grinding away at the production of weapons
of mass destruction.

If this disturbs you, do something about it. Among other things, let your senators and
representatives know that they will not be re-elected unless they act now to ensure
production and distribution of all necessary equipment to save everyone’s life that
can be saved.

The government must act immediately:

  1. USE THE DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT TO MOBILIZE AMERICAN
    MANUFACTURERS TO SWITCH TO MAKING MEDICAL EQUIPMENT.
    2. USE THE DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY TO HELP COORDINATE
    EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF THESE SUPPLIES AND A MASS ROLL-OUT
    OF COVID-19 TESTING.

PLEASE, SPEAK OUT NOW. Call: U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy: (860) 549-8463;
Sen. Richard Blumenthal: (800) 334-5341; U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro: (203) 562-3718
TWO WAYS TO CONTACT THE PRESIDENT Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
White House Switchboard: (202) 456-1414; For email: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Always leave your name, address and phone number.
ALL OUR LIVES DEPEND ON THIS.
CONTINUE TO PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING. THINK AND ACT FOR
THE COMMUNITY.
Stay strong. We hope to see you soon.
RESIST THIS ENDLESS WAR
The New Haven Sunday Vigilers
March 2020
https://newhavensundayvigil.wordpress.com

PAR Newsletter to remain active, online

Dear Readers:

Circumstances in our daily living will change quickly as the coronavirus continues to make its way through our cities and towns, states and countries. Be informed, check with your local media, town hall, etc.

At this time the PAR newsletter will only be available on-line due to the various restrictions in place.
The regularly occurring events we advertise will most likely not be happening. Check with the sponsoring organizations or venues before you go out.

There are a number of agencies and websites to turn to for information about the coronavirus and places to go for help. Here are some of them:

Call 211 for resources, information on food pantries, medical assistance, and various hotlines.
Yale New Haven Health has set up a call center to respond to questions about Covid-19, give assessments to patients by phone or video, and determine whether someone needs to be tested. The number to call is (833) ASK-YNHH. That’s (833) 275-9644.

https://medicine.yale.edu/intmed/news-article/23180/

The United Way of Greater New Haven has set up a Volunteer webpage. There are organizations that need your help now because of increased needs and volunteer shortages. The webpage will be updated frequently. Please go there to see how you can volunteer to help local organizations and/or your neighbor: https://uwgnh.org/volunteer-needs

https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus
https://covid19.newhavenct.gov/

Regional Groups and Support Networks:
Mutual Aid/Support Waterbury, Bridgeport, New Haven and Surrounding Areas
https://www.facebook.com/groups/501197987165893/?fref=nf

• document for sharing resources that helps you connect with others around physical, emotional, educational and social needs.
http://bit.ly/2Wg2pvc
o It is available in Arabic: المساعدة المتبادلة في ووتربيري، بريدجبورت، نيو هافن
o And Spanish: ESPAÑOL- Ayuda Mutua Hartford, Waterbury, Bridgeport, New Haven

New Haven Area Mutual Aid
https://www.facebook.com/groups/639466263512268

 

Enroll NOW in Health Insurance Through Access Health CT!

by Protect Our Care CT

Because of the coronavirus, Access Health CT, Connecticut’s health insurance exchange, has established a Special Enrollment Period for uninsured people. This Special Enrollment Period will run from Thursday, March 19 through Thursday, April 2. Coverage will start on April 1 for those who enroll.

Normal qualification rules apply and federal subsidies are available to those who qualify for them.

Enrollment is by phone only. Call (855) 365-2428, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
For details on this new Special Enrollment Period: https://learn.accesshealthct.com

A reminder: Qualified individuals and families can apply for Medicaid through Access Health CT at any time during the year.

Meet SalamTalk App: Independent, Conversation-Driven News

by SalamTalk

Over the past few months, the world has been skyrocketed into pandemic: misinformation about coronavirus has spread quickly, and people across the world are anxiously trying to decipher social media posts, government warnings, and mainstream media in order to access real people’s experiences in crisis zones. The spread of fake news and biased reporting during the coronavirus crisis is indicative of the mistrust in news generally – a 2016 Gallup poll shows that only 31% of Americans trust the national news. In conflict zones, there is an added complication: each side gets caught up in its own narrative and is unable to see past its own media scope. It’s clear that a new type of journalism is needed: one that acknowledges truth as multifaceted and complex, and seeks to eliminate a middleman motivated by politics or profit. SalamTalk, a new media platform for citizen journalism, wants to fill this gap.

SalamTalk focuses on facilitating dialogue and citizen journalism across Israel and Palestine, allowing anyone to be a journalist through virtual conversations and reports transcending borders. The peer-to-peer network used by SalamTalk allows for direct conversation, which keeps conversations secure and encrypted. Users can filter their conversations by nationality, location, and languages spoken, and decide to have a free-form conversation about any topic they choose, or use guidelines provided by experts. After the conversation, people rate their conversational partner on openness, reliability, aggression and inconsideration. The citizen journalism platform operates through an incentivized peer-review system.

The platform works at the intersection between personal and political, asking questions like:
what happens when nameless statistics become real faces? What happens when political information is directly addressed in conflict zones, instead of skirted around? SalamTalk acknowledges that we can only make the best judgment of the truth when we have access to multifaceted, personal experiences.
SalamTalk is run by an all-volunteer network spanning the US, Germany, The Netherlands, Israel, Palestine, and more.

For more information, please visit the SalamTalk website. Sign up to the newsletter or social media for latest updates, and contribute to the crowdfunding campaign to get the platform off the ground.

Rally Demands End to ICE Agent Arrests of Undocumented Immigrants in Connecticut Courthouses

Excerpt from interview with Ana Maria Rivera-Forastieri, co-director of the Connecticut Bail Fund, recorded and produced

by Melinda Tuhus for Between The Lines/BTLonline.org.

Immigrant rights advocates protested outside the Connecticut Judicial Branch in Hartford on March 9, demanding that ICE – the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers – stop arresting undocumented immigrants inside the state’s courthouses. Activists point out that neighboring states of Massachusetts and New York have prohibited ICE arrests in their courts.

Maintaining that the state’s courts are serving as stalking ground for ICE agents, protesters made several demands on the office of state court administration. The Immigrant Bail Fund reports that bonding out immigrants who have been arrested in court is the most common avenue by which they learn about arrests. And the Immigrant Defense Project reports that in New York City, arrests within courthouses has soared 1100 percent since Donald Trump became president, up from much smaller numbers under President Obama.

ANA MARIA RIVERA-FORESTIERI: We have several demands. One of them is that the judicial branch has the full authority to enact a policy that prevents them from coming in, and there are several states that have done that, including our neighbors in New York and Massachusetts. So they could institute a policy today saying Immigration is not allowed to come in and arrest people unless they have a warrant, which is what they require of any other law enforcement agency. So we’re saying, “No special treatment for ICE.”

In addition to that we’re saying reparations for families that have been impacted by this issue. And we’re also very worried because of the Trust Act now, the Department of Homeland Security has subpoenaed several states for information about people they didn’t release because of Trust Act policies, and so the state of Connecticut is considering whether or not they’re going to respond to these subpoenas, which run contrary to the spirit of the Trust Act and why we did it in the first place. I mean, if they honor these subpoenas, then what is the point of the law, which we worked so hard to pass?

For more information on the Connecticut Immigration Rights Alliance on Facebook, visit
Facebook.com/CTImmigrantRightsAlliance.

Why Does the DNC Want Trump to Win?

by Lindsay Mathews, New Haven Peace Activist

Why are the DNC elites, MSDNC and CNN again propping up another right-wing buffoon, Joe Biden, to be the Democratic nominee for President when the other candidate, Bernie Sanders, has the strongest ground game to get out the largest vote in U.S. history to take back the White House?

Take back the White House. Good news for the DNC. One would think.

And, yet, we saw the full force of the Democratic establishment and their corporate media take control just before Super Tuesday to install their puppet, Joe Biden, a dum-dum and liar who can barely string a group of words together to form a sentence.

Why?

We know from the 2016 election that the DNC does not want Bernie, but why Biden? Is he just being used as their vehicle to power?

Is it because they KNOW that Biden will lose the election when the Bernie campaign sits this one out? Or are they using him as a vehicle to maintain their power?

It’s about policy. The Democratic and Republic parties need to keep the rich, rich and to hell with the rest of us. Trump is their guy. For the next nine years we will suffer with their “Tax the Poor” tax break policy for the rich.

Why are they enabling the fascistic, ecocidal Trump to win the election? Trump knows they are doing this as he gleefully commences to chew up Biden only to spit him out for huge win for the 1% in 2020. BINGO!

As Bernie says, “Our campaign is the only campaign that has the excitement and the strongest grassroots movement needed to defeat the most dangerous President in the recent history of the United States.”

Is this why the Democratic Party wants Trump back in the White House?

March 16, 2020

Take Action Against Killing Sanctions

by Henry Lowendorf, Greater New Haven Peace Council

The coronavirus is wreaking havoc with the health and lives of people around the world. The US and other nations are taking drastic actions to halt its spread and tend to people who have contracted the associated disease, COVID-19.

Yet the US is simultaneously preventing the people of several countries from obtaining needed medicines and medical equipment to defeat this pandemic. US economic warfare – euphemistically called sanctions – is aimed at Cuba, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Syria and Venezuela, among other countries. These sanctions are cruel, inhumane and criminal. They endanger the whole world by keeping the virus alive.

In the short article below, economists explain the connection between sanctions and worsening of the pandemic. A letter from the President of the World Peace Council Socorro Gomez is below that and attached is a general analysis of US sanctions.

Call your Senators and House members to demand economic sanctions be immediately lifted for humane reasons: (202) 224-2131.

For more info: Henry Lowendorf [email protected]

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/03/economists-demand-trump-immediately-lift-iran-cuba-and-venezuela-sanctions-that-are-feeding-the-coronavirus-epidemic/

Take the Stress Off, Love Your Home

Fundraising for the Exciting New Energy Consultation Initiative Concludes May 31st

by Tebben Lopez, NHS of New Haven

A typical household wastes 30% more energy than an efficient one does. Energy efficiency helps customers cut consumption and bills through services like energy assessments, but where do you begin? Enter NHS New Haven’s pilot program, I ♥ My Home and energy consultant, Michael Uhl.
Mike moved to New Haven six years ago from Baltimore, where he learned about the systematic challenges facing families. “The experience compelled me to do more. I want to make homes where families are not gentrified away from communities and the air is clean.”

Soon after, he found NHS. “NHS staff were building and envisioning an equitable future, with the years of experience to know New Haven residents’ needs.” With his own experience in high performance building services, they stayed connected on topics that serve residents.

“I ♥ My Home makes improving a residence simpler,” Mike explains, “We are centered on the participant. The program solves frustrations of homeowners and renters, while attaining greater financial freedom and environmental improvements.” By guiding participants to financially-viable, energy-saving upgrades for their needs, the program systematically leads a resident through steps to make living more affordable and responsible. “The program is timely, strategic and effective,” Mike said. The average monthly residential electricity bill in Connecticut is $127, 19% higher than the national average. Residential energy accounts for 12% of greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, low-income households face an energy burden three times higher than other households, forcing tough budget choices because home energy costs demand a larger portion of income.

“NHS and its partners are agnostic to technologies, financing and contractors, allowing the team to focus on customer needs,” Mike explains. By facilitating the experience, enlisting technical consultants to provide deep energy, financing or processing management expertise, “NHS can quickly build and easily manage program sustainability.”

They’re seeking support from the community and asking residents, local businesses and other organizations to donate and help this fundraising campaign finish strong. As a recipient of the Sustainable CT Community Match Fund, all donations raised from the community are matched dollar-for-dollar, doubling local investment. To learn more and make a contribution, visit https://ioby.org/project/i-heart-my-home.

Speak up for local land conservation

You can help protect 70+ acres of open space land in Greenwich!

by Laura McMillan, CFE/Save the Sound

For several months, CFE/Save the Sound has been working closely with the Greenwich Land Trust and the Town of Greenwich on an agreement to protect 72.27 acres of forest and wetland currently owned by the Aquarion Water Company. Without the intervention of these local partners, the land would have been incredibly vulnerable to development and Greenwich would have lost a beautiful landscape and all the ecological and human benefits it gives.
But there are a few more steps before the protection deal is complete. You can help!

You can send official comments to the Public Utility Regulatory Authority from home:
1. Email your comments to [email protected] by March 24.
2. Put “Docket 20-01-58” in the subject line.
3. Tell PURA you support Aquarion’s application to dispose of 80 acres of land, including 72.27 acres to the Greenwich Land Trust, and why preserving open space in Greenwich is important to you.
There is a public hearing scheduled Tuesday, March 24 at 6:00 - 7:30 p.m., in the Cone Meeting Room, Greenwich Town Hall, 101 Field Point Road. Given the current public health situation with COVID-19, the hearing is subject to change. Please check Town of Greenwich’s website and PURA Docket 20-01-58 for updates and be mindful of minimizing transmission risk.

CT Fund for the Environment/Save the Sound
www.ctenvironment.org | www.savethesound.org
900 Chapel Street, Upper Mezzanine, New Haven, CT 06510

Shut Down The Cricket Valley Fracked Gas Power Plant

Resist CVE via ActionNetwork.org <[email protected]>

Dear friends,

At Resist CVE, we are reeling from the rapid escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic and offer our love and solidarity to those who are feeling the deepest effects of this crisis. We have had to quickly reflect on how to shift our organizing strategy with respect to the new and important need for social distancing. We came to the conclusion; we can’t stop because the fossil fuel companies aren’t stopping. We will keep organizing, safely and creatively, to shut down the Cricket Valley fracked gas power plant.
While this massive health emergency unfolds, fossil fuel executives capitalize on the crisis, positioning themselves for bailouts. Meanwhile, the rest of us are busy helping our communities. Coronavirus containment proves we can make needed changes to protect public health. We need a similar sense of real urgency applied to the extremely lethal and large-scale climate emergency, and to the deadly air and water pollution which is business as usual for the fossil fuel industry.

So, today we are asking you to join the online rally!

We are conducting a virtual protest that everyone can join from home. Help us get the word to Cuomo that we are not stopping until he stops Cricket Valley!

ACTION STEPS:
1. Call Governor Cuomo @ (877) 235-6537 and tell him to stop Cricket Valley!
2. Sign the Petition and share the web address: Bit.ly/protectourhealthstopcve
3. Sign the Pledge to take action
4. View our new video & share on social media
5. Forward this message to at least 10 of your friends
stopcricketvalley.org

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