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CitySeed Is Hiring!

Development Associate (Part-Time): CitySeed is seeking a detail-oriented, creative, and personable Development Associate to join our team (cityseed.org/who-we-are-2/employment). This role will best suit someone who is highly detailed, enjoys connecting with people, is a strong writer and storyteller, and is inspired by CitySeed’s mission. This role reports to the Executive Director and plays a critical role in ensuring that CitySeed’s supporters have a positive experience and feel connected with our organization’s mission.

This is a part-time position to start, with the goal of growing into a full-time role. New Haven residents and applicants with strong ties to New Haven are strongly encouraged to apply. Remote candidates will also be considered.

Sanctuary Kitchen is seeking interns for the spring 2022 and summer 2022 semesters. Interns are a valuable part of the Sanctuary Kitchen team and play a critical role in helping us achieve our mission.

Available internships include culinary operations intern, marketing intern, operations intern, sales and outreach intern. Sanctuary Kitchen is happy to work with your college or course instructors to fulfill credits or requirements.

CitySeed Farmers Market Intern: Seeking applicants who are enthusiastic about sustainable agriculture and food justice in New Haven, and want to learn while working at Farmers Markets. The position includes setting up and breaking down tables and tents, selling bread and tokens, handling money and credit/debit/SNAP cards and promoting market programs. To learn more about this opportunity or apply, please email erin.carey@cityseed.org with your resume attached.

Volunteers are also always welcome and needed. Feel free visit our volunteer section and fill out an application at cityseed.org.

Become Part of the PAR Production Team!

You are reading this newsletter because two people each spend approximately 8 to 10 hours per issue on production. We review the articles that are sent in, edit if necessary, and put them in our newsletter format. We proofread and create the final version. Then the newsletter is printed and ready to be mailed out. We need help and can offer a stipend of $15 an hour.

We’d like to work with someone who is involved with the New Haven activist community. Often we have to check local organizations’ websites, media and Facebook pages to write articles from groups’ press releases.

We would prefer someone who is familiar with the print version PAR newsletter, is a good writer, knows layout and can work with photos and graphics.

The person has to prioritize time around the production time – due date till mailing date, depending on which tasks are taken on.

If you would like the full job description to be part of the production team or have questions about how you can help, please call Paula at 203-562-2798 or send an email to parnewhaven@hotmail.com and put PRODUCTION TEAM HELP in the subject line.

Thank you!

CT Green Energy News

Study: Business lobbying a major barrier to clean energy legislation in Connecticut
Energy News Network. Dec. 17, 2021

“Brown University researchers found that utility and business interests outspend environmental organizations on lobbying 8-to-1, though an industry group says the study overstates its spending and influence on energy…’Environmental groups and ordinary citizens will never have the money or resources to match what Ever-source and the CBIA spend to influence lawmakers. But broad majorities of Americans see climate change as a serious problem and are demanding action from their elected leaders. So the real power is at the polls.'”

TEDxHartford

In this 17 minute video, Connecticut’s own Leticia Colon de Mejias talks about her journey from unawareness to alarm about the dangers of climate change. Her overall message is one of hope and a call to action: climate change is solvable.

3 of 5 ex-utility officials guilty of theft in lavish trips

AP News. “Five former utility officials were found not guilty Friday on a charge of conspiracy, while the same federal jury found three guilty of theft stemming from lavish trips they took to the Kentucky Derby and a luxury golf resort. The junkets had been arranged by the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative for dozens of top staff, board members, family members and others from 2013 to 2016.”

Public Utilities Regulatory Authority 101
Tuesday, January 18, 2022 12:30 p.m.

Who oversees public utilities? How are rates determined? How are decisions about energy sources made? The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) has regulatory oversight of public utilities in Connecticut, including electric, natural gas, and water. Join the discussion about utility regulation with PURA Chair Marissa Gillett. Look for this article online at par-newhaven.org for the link to register for this webinar.

CT Green Energy News is brought to you by People’s Action for Clean Energy (PACE) and Eastern CT Green Action. It features news and events for advocates of clean energy, energy efficiency, and climate action at the state and local levels. To subscribe, email peter.millman7@gmail.com.

Chastening Chase ♩ ♪ ♫ ♬

by Melinda Tuhus, PAR reader and environmental activist

Local activists undertook a weekly protest of Chase Bank during the month of December, sometimes outside the bank on Church/Wall streets, and sometimes at other venues with lots of people, like the Christmas tree lighting on the Green and the Wooster Square farmers’ market. We reached a lot of people with our flyer explaining that Chase has invested $317 billion in fossil fuel projects in the past five years, 29% more than the next leading bank, and that it must stop doing so. Customers said they would share the information with bank employees, and a few said they were canceling their accounts and moving their money elsewhere (the Connex credit union is a block away). The branch manager said he would share the letter we gave him with his higher-ups. We’re hoping CEO Jamie Dimon hears about it. (This is part of a national campaign targeting Chase.) More information is at StoptheMoneyPipeline.org and www.bankingonclimatechaos.org.

To help, please contact me at melinda.tuhus@gmail.com. Put CHASE in CAPS in the subject line.

Here are some of the songs we sang outside of Chase Bank:

O Come on Chase Bank (to the tune of O, Come All Ye Faithful)
O Come on Chase Ba-ank,
Di-vest from the pipelines.
Come, be responsible: respect
Treaty rights!
Why don’t you bankers finance
Cleaner energy?
You could invest in solar.
You should invest in solar.
You must invest in solar
And Di-vest from oil!

Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells, Something smells…
Another oi-l spill.
Bank of Chase, You’ve gotta know
That dirty oi-l kills. HEY!
Jingle Bells, come on Chase,
Make a New Year’s vow:
Use your might and do what’s right
Stop funding fossils now!

Bankers need to know
That we are not okay
With ramming pipelines through,
Spilling all the way.
So, Bank of Chase rethink
Your thoughtless policy.
People before Profits
Is a better strategy, HEY!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

Clean power we need, not dirty Fracked gas
Clean power for climate and a happy Workforce!

Chorus

Oh Chase Bank please stop investing
Oh, Chase Bank please stop investing
Oh, Chase Bank please stop investing
In Dirty Energy.

Public Utilities Regulatory Authority 101 Zoom call — Jan. 18, 2022

Tuesday, January 18, 2022 12:30 PM

Beyond paying our monthly utility bill, many of us don’t pay much attention to who oversees public  utilities, how rates are determined, or how decisions about energy sources are made. Navigating the world of public utilities can feel technical and confusing — but it doesn’t have to!

The Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) has regulatory oversight of public utilities in Connecticut, including electric, natural gas, and water.

Join PURA Chair Marissa Gillett as we pull back the curtain on utility regulation and empower you with knowledge to engage. Register here or visit https://tinyurl.com/pura101.

Health In Conversation: Vaccine Hesitancy & Misinformation with Heidi J. Larson

Health In Conversation: Vaccine Hesitancy & Misinformation with Heidi J. Larson

Tuesday, Dec. 21 @ Noon on Zoom & Facebook Live

Heidi J. Larson, PhD, is Professor of Anthropology, Risk and Decision Science and is the Founding Director of the Vaccine Confidence Project at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. She is also Clinical Professor of Health Metrics Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, USA, and Guest Professor at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.

https://nhfpl.libnet.info/event/5884306

Fighting for Climate Justice, in the Streets and in the Court

by Melinda Tuhus, PAR reader and environmental activist

I was one of 15 elders arrested back in June for sitting in rocking chairs in the street for about a half-hour in front of JP Morgan Chase’s credit card headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware. It’s an impressive building, with an impressive sculpture of an eagle with outstretched wings flying from a tall pedestal – a perfect spot for two of us to unfurl a big banner calling on President Joe Biden and Chase Bank to do the right thing and stop investing in fossil fuel projects. Chase is by far the biggest investor in such planet- and people-killing practices.

In our trial for disorderly conduct that took place on November 12 – the last scheduled day of the COP 26 global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland – Judge Kerry Taylor allowed the 11 pro se defendants (acting without a lawyer) to submit reports about the climate crisis and the role of banks in funding it.

We pursued a “choice of evils” strategy, which under Dela-ware law allows someone to break the law to prevent a greater “imminent” harm. The prosecutor, who was the arresting officer, kept asking defendants who took the witness stand how their blocking the road prevented “imminent” harm that would justify the inconvenience to motorists who were delayed for a short time. Defendants testified to the drastic “imminent” harms already occurring due to climate change, like the fact that on the day of the protest, temperatures reached 108 degrees in the Northwest, part of a multi-day heatwave that killed at least 600 humans and a billion sea creatures.

Getting this documentation into the record was historic, as judges almost never allow a choice of evils defense – also known as a necessity defense. It was part of our carefully crafted four-prong strategy: presenting the science; present-ing an expert witness who talked about the health impacts of the climate crisis; presenting documentation about the role of banks and Chase Bank in particular in funding the crisis; and presenting another expert witness who testified about the success of taking nonviolent direct action in winning climate concessions from a different bank.
After all that, Judge Taylor found us guilty.

I am more committed than ever to having a regular presence outside the Chase Bank branch in downtown New Haven in the month of December to continue putting pressure on the bank to stop funding fossil fuel projects, as part of a national campaign. Please contact me at melinda.tuhus@gmail.com. Put CHASE in CAPS in the subject line if you would like to help.

For the full story in the New Haven Independent: www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/why_we_rocked_for_climate_justice

Dangers of Tweed Airport Expansion

by Rachel Heerema, 10,000 Hawks

10,000 Hawks is an all-volunteer group of neighbors and concerned citizens working together for a high quality of life for all in East Haven and New Haven. We have many shared concerns and wishes for our families and future generations.

Right now, the most significant impact on our lives is the proposed Tweed expansion. Go to www.10000hawks.org to review primary documents and news articles.

Here are the bare bones of our concerns with the Tweed Airport 5-year Master Plan:

  • Six gates in a new terminal sited on extant wetlands with harmful impacts on wildlife and water
  • 15-16 flights a day with +3,000 cars a day on residential streets
  • Noise and air pollution in a 5-mile radius
  • Tweed floodplain will be underwater by 2050, due to estimated sea level rise of 20′
  • East Haven and New Haven home values will drop, and long-time residents may leave
  • The recommendation that the main runway should be extended to 7,600′ within the next 20 years

Additionally, the 43-year lease agreement contains language that supports eminent domain procedures and cargo flight approval processes.

Join us. Here are two email addresses to know. 1) 10000hawks@gmail.com to sign up for weekly updates and join weekly advocacy calls. 2) hvn-ea@mjinc.com to make a public comment on the Environmental Assessment currently underway.

The best comments to make ask questions that the Assessment should investigate and consider.  Contact Rachel Heerema at 10000hawks@gmail.com with questions.

Employment Opportunity: Part-time Director of Development, Flexible Hours

by Susan Bramhall, NHLSCP

The New Haven / Leon Sister City Project is seeking a part-time Director of Development to join our team as employee or self-employed. We are passionate about our work to connect and support the people of New Haven and Nicaragua. We are looking for a mission-driven, well-organized person who seeks to use great communications skills to connect the people of New Haven to the people of Nicaragua.

The primary work of the NH/LSCP in León, Nicaragua is to support community-based initiatives in the rural communities of Goyena and Troilo and to facilitate programs and projects that improve public health and community-based education, support women’s rights, and address root causes of poverty. In New Haven we work to build new projects and coalitions to confront the climate change crisis. In both communities we work to build local leadership and capacity and address causes of poverty and injustice.
Patty Nuelsen, our long-time Director of Development, will be retiring in the coming months. We believe that we have the opportunity to increase our use of social media and technology, along with person-to-person contact, to carry our work and message of connection to a new generation. The position can be largely remote and the hours can be flexible. This is not a traditional siloed non-profit development position – our Director of Development will be connected to the work we do and the people who are doing that work. We think this opportunity is ideal for someone skilled at organizing projects, who wants to work with a wonderful team delivering important change in the world. Our Director of Development will use communication and networking skills to connect current and future supporters to our values and mission.

Please don’t be shy! We are very interested to hear from you if you are interested in this position. Please see newhavenleon.org/nhlscp-job-opening-pt-director-of-development for the full job announcement.

Reminder: People’s World Amistad Awards, Saturday, Dec. 11

As reported in PAR last month, this year’s People’s World Amistad Awards will be held virtually Saturday, Dec. 11 at 4 p.m. The theme is MAKING GOOD TROUBLE Together We Rise for a Hopeful Future.

This year’s awardees are in the forefront of fighting for the rights of essential workers and all workers regardless of immigration status during the COVID pandemic, and organizing for spending priorities that address racial equity, climate change, voting rights and the common good. They represent the kind of unity, solidarity and vision needed to build the movement that can transform our country to put people, peace and planet before profits.

Awardees are:

State Sen. Julie Kushner, Senate Chair of the Labor and Public Employees Committee; Pastor Rodney Wade, Senior Pastor of Long Hill Bible Church in Waterbury; and Azucena Santiago, a courageous leader with 32BJ SEIU in the fight for union rights and health protections for service plaza workers.

The Awards are hosted by CT People’s World on the occasion of the 102nd anniversary of the Communist Party USA. As part of this celebration, there will be a special tribute to Art Perlo for his dedication and work in the struggle for equality, peace and justice.

There will also be a special “IN SOLIDARITY” recognition of the contract fight of unions at Yale, and the AFT/community struggle to keep maternity services at Windham Hospital. Spanish language interpretation will be available.

Register here.  Or, please call (203) 624-4254 or email CT-PWW@pobox.com.

Have an Idea to Clean Up Your Community? Want Funding for It?

by Lynne Bonnett, Greater New Haven Green Fund

The Greater New Haven Green Fund is now receiving applications for small community grants up to $10,000 that engage and empower citizens and organizations to help create clean, healthy and environmentally sustainable communities in New Haven, Hamden, East Haven and Woodbridge.
If you are interested in applying for a grant please visit our website: http://www.gnhgreenfund.org for more information and to access the application.

We can be reached by emailing us at info@gnhgreenfund.org to set up a time to chat or answer any questions that you might have.

The online application is open now and will close at the end of Jan., 2022.

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