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More than Oysters: “Talking” Tour of Fair Haven East, Sunday, Oct. 26 at 2 p.m.
by New Haven Preservation Trust
The borough of Fair Haven East, incorporated in 1872, represents the city’s one (and only) experiment with this semi-autonomous form of local government.
This two-part lecture featuring presenters Oliver Gaffney and Joe Taylor will explore architecture that exemplifies the development of the borough from its roots in East Haven; through its annexation to New Haven in 1881; and its eventual consolidation with city government starting in 1897. Historic maps, newspaper articles, and rare photos from the Joe Taylor Collection will help us visualize changing patterns of commerce, agriculture, transportation, and housing in the borough – and some interesting stories about the residents who called it home!
Please RSVP as seating is limited. This event will be held indoors, rain or shine, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2 p.m. at the New Haven Friends Meeting, 225 E. Grand Ave., New Haven. Register at nhpt.org/events.
Hartford Workers Over Billionaires Labor Day
Monday, Sept. 1, 12–3 p.m.
Connecticut State Capitol
210 Capitol Ave
Hartford, CT 06106
The billionaires continue to wage a cruel war on working people, with their cronies in the administration, ICE and law enforcement backing up their attacks. This Labor Day we will continue to stand strong, fighting for public schools over private profits, healthcare over hedge funds, shared prosperity over corporate politics.
Working people built this nation and we know how to take care of each other. We won’t back down—we will never stop fighting for our families and the rights and freedoms that ensure access to opportunity and a better life for all Americans. The billionaire’s time is up.
On Sept. 1 we will continue the movement we launched together on May 1st, standing in solidarity with all our communities under attack and fighting for real wins for all our people.
In thousands of communities around the country we encourage you to take a stand with us on Labor Day. On the streets, outside the offices of the corporate criminals who are behind the attacks on our freedoms and at congressional offices. Together we will demand a world that works for all of us.
OUR DEMANDS TO BUILD THE SOCIETY WE ALL DESERVE:
- Stop the billionaire takeover and rampant corruption of the Trump administration.
- Protect and defend Medicaid, Social Security, and other programs for working people.
- Fully funded schools, and healthcare and housing for all.
- Stop the attacks on immigrants, Black, indigenous, trans people, and all our communities.
- Invest in people not wars.
Please note: A core principle behind all our events is a commitment to nonviolent action. We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values. Weapons of any kind, including those legally permitted, should not be brought to events.
Greater New Haven Labor History Association Annual Meeting ‘Remembering the 50th Anniversary of the 1975 Teachers’ Strike,’ 3-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7
by Steve Kass, President, GNHLHA
Please join us for our annual meeting at the New Haven Labor Center, 267 Chapel St., New Haven, for a special program looking back at the 50th anniversary of the 1975 Teachers’ Strike.
There will be a presentation of all the news articles from the strike, followed by a panel discussion featuring some of the 90 teachers who were jailed for refusing to return to work until a new contract was in place. There will also be a keynote address by Frank Carrano, the president of the New Haven Federation of Teachers during the time of the strike.
As usual, the Augusta Louis Troup “Pass It On” awards will be presented to people and organizations that advance the labor movement agenda of decent working conditions at a good wage, with hope for the future.
Frank Panzarella will perform some labor songs.
Seating is limited, the event is free. We will start promptly at 3 p.m. Parking is available behind the building.
Sun Day Festival at CCSU on Sept. 21
by Lynn Stoddard, Third Act CT, Sun Day Co-Coordinator
Sun Day is a national mobilization on the weekend of the Autumnal equinox, September 20 – 21, 2025 to celebrate the power of clean energy and mobilize millions to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. Spearheaded by Bill McKibben and inspired by the success of Earth Day, Sun Day will harness Americans of all stripes to highlight the benefits of solar, wind, and electrification through thousands of local events and a massive online campaign. Learn more at www.sunday.earth.
CT Third Act and partners are holding a big statewide Sun Day Festival at the Student Center, Central CT State University, 1615 Stanley St., New Britain, from noon-4 p.m. on Sept. 21. Please RSVP at Connecticut@thirdact.org to join us.
In addition, many communities are holding local Sun Day events on or leading up to Sept. 20 (the day before the statewide festival). Interested in holding a local Sun Day event? You can find info and resources here: https://www.climateactionct.org/sun-day.
Pedal for Palestine, Sunday, Sept. 21
by Ellen Rubin, JVPNH
Jewish Voice for Peace New Haven (JVPNH) invites you to join us on September 21, 2025 for Pedal for Palestine. We will be cycling in “slow motion” through the streets of New Haven to create connection and community with Gaza and Palestine. We welcome bright banners with clear messaging and visibility, noisemakers of all types, high spirits and riders of all ages and abilities – with safety as a priority. Please wear your helmets, honk horns, ring bells, blow kazoos, follow the marshals and make new friends!
We will start at 10 a.m. at the Mill River by Cross High School to highlight the destruction of educational resources in Gaza, stopping at the water treatment plant, public library, local hospital, and media outlets to highlight the corresponding devastation of life-sustaining resources in Gaza today. We will end by the Sea at Long Wharf around 2 p.m., with plans to get to know one another, enjoy the food trucks, and hopefully dance! The goal is to promote solidarity, education and funds for the families in Gaza facing famine, genocide, and internment camps. Folks can join at any of the planned stops (maps will be provided) or join us at the start or finish or anywhere in between. If you are not a bike rider, you can help with refreshments, leafletting, fundraising to the grass-roots organizations providing food, healthcare, and children’s services in Palestine (MECA and RAWA) &/or just party with us. We stand and pedal for Peace and Justice in Palestine. Join us!
For more information and to register to ride, go to jvpnh.org/pedal-for-palestine.
Branford’s Inaugural Celebration of the Sun on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025!
Sun Shines on Branford is an all-ages festival, with activities taking place near Branford Town Green and throughout the town. This event will focus on solar energy and opportunities for sustainable and renewable resources that abound in Branford, Connecticut.
Join the fun all around town. Crafts, demos, workshops, art, music, and much more — an exciting day for everyone!
All activities are free. Select retailers will be participating in their own way with special sun-related offerings.
Come out and celebrate as the Sun Shines on Branford!
Sun Shines on Branford is in partnership with Sun Day, a national day of action to be held on Sept. 21, 2025 celebrating solar and wind power.
More info: https://www.sunshinesonbranford.org.
Signs for the Times: the New Haven Sunday Vigil for Peace and Justice Continues
by Joan Cavanagh, Vigil Participant
“Never Again for Anyone;” “No More Money for Genocide;” “Resist Fascism Now- Before It’s Too Late;” “Arms Embargo Now;” “Food Distribution, Not Population Annihilation;” “Silence Is Not an Option;” and, of course, “Resist this Endless War,” are among the messages made visible every week by the New Haven Sunday Vigil for Peace and Justice.
Ongoing weekly since 1999 throughout the administrations of five different presidents, the vigil’s theme has been consistent: the wars and military interventions abroad and repression at home are all part of one assault aimed at consolidating enormous wealth and power into the hands of a very few people at the expense of the rest of us and the health of our planet.
After the U.S.-enabled destruction of Gaza and its people following the HAMAS attack on Israel, culminating now in a campaign of mass starvation and population removal, the vigilers decided to continue this weekly presence well beyond its 25th year.
Today, with all three branches of the United States government caught in the stranglehold of a global movement toward fascism, visible street resistance to all manifestations of the “endless war” is a crucial part of our refusal to be silenced. This is what fascism looks like:
- Mass institutional compliance with the dictates of Trump and his lackeys on every issue, including the abolition of D.E.I., the removal of healthcare from certain groups of people, the rewriting of U.S. history and the criminalization of dissent.
- The federal takeover of the Washington, D.C. police force (a prototype for takeovers of more U.S. cities).
- The invasion of our cities by masked ICE thugs and the illegal arrests, detainments and deportations of U.S. citizens as well as immigrants.
- The criminalization of poverty and homelessness.
- Massive cuts to vital social services needed by millions in our country, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security.
- And, of course, the never-ending blank check for war-making, weapons production and military intervention handed to the President of the United States.
Currently, three to six people attend the vigil. With more urgency than ever, we invite others to join: 12 to 1 on Sundays at Broadway, Park and Elm streets. This is what democracy looks like. (https://newhavensundayvigil.org).
International Day of Peace Event Tues., Sept. 30
by Aaron Goode, New Haven Peace Commissioner
The City of New Haven Peace Commission will celebrate International Day of Peace 2025 by planting a new tree and dedicating a plaque at Common Ground High School, 358 Springside Ave., on Tuesday, Sept. 30. There will be student readings and performances, a proclamation by the mayor, and more. Details will be announced on the Peace Commission website, peacecommission.org.
IWagePeace Interfaith Service Festival
The Interfaith Service Festival will be held on the International Day of Peace, Sunday, Sept. 21, 12-4 p.m.
Keynote address will be given by Dr. Elias Farah, Executive Director, Jerusalem Peacebuilders.
There will be discussion groups about food scarcity, gun violence, the unhoused, peacemaking, and prison reform.
Events include a beach clean-up with Save the Sound, community billboard painting, a chance to turn guns into jewelry with Swords to Plowshares CT, and films and discussion with Stop Solitary CT.
Enjoy fellowship, service, and a beach walk on Sunday, Sept. 21, from 12-4 p.m. Activities will be by the shoreline on the grounds of St. John Vianney Church, 300 Captain Thomas Blvd., West Haven.
For more information, please go to bit.ly/3Vdn28C.
Immigrant Advocates Demand Action from CT Lawmakers as ICE Announces Arrests from 4-Day Operation
by Daniela Doncel, Aug. 20, Connecticut Public Radio
[Excerpts from article]
Around 100 community members huddled under a roof of umbrellas chanting “ICE out of Connecticut now” as rain poured down on Danbury Superior Court.
Advocates with Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants demanded action from state lawmakers after several Connecticut cities have seen a surge in the presence of federal immigration officers.
The rally took place less than a two-minute walk from the same location where dozens of ICE officers gathered and detained two individuals on the Danbury courthouse steps earlier this month.
In a statement released on Wednesday [Aug. 20], Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Boston confirmed that 65 people were apprehended by ICE in Connecticut over four days this month.
Family members of one of these taken individuals spoke at the rally. Edwin Andres Calva-Guaman was taken into ICE custody last week at the Danbury Superior Courthouse, according to his sister Monica Apolinario.
“[Calva-Guaman’s] lawyer told him to go to the Danbury Superior Courthouse because he supposedly had a court date. I showed up in court to ask why he had to attend, but in actuality, he didn’t have a court date. We don’t know why they summoned him, and we don’t know where they took him,” Apolinario said in Spanish.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal faced pushback when he spoke at the rally in Danbury on Wednesday.
After introducing him to the crowd, organizer and co-founder of Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants Juan Fonseca Tapia spoke to Blumenthal directly.
“We know you condemned this fascist administration and the terror inflicted on our community,” Fonseca Tapia said. “We know that. But on behalf of my community, I am asking you, what are you going to do to keep our families safe?”
When Blumenthal responded by asking the crowd if they were ready to fight, several individuals in the crowd shouted back, “Are you?”
Blumenthal said he was ready.
In response to the uptick in ICE activity, Greater Danbury Unites for Immigrants has organized a petition with demands for state elected officials. According to the petition, the group is calling on Gov. Ned Lamont and the legislature to strengthen Connecticut’s TRUST Act, a law that limits how local law enforcement cooperates with federal immigration officials.
[The entire article is at https://tinyurl.com/mr2kutbp]
Our Thanks to Our Readers! You’re Great!
It was fantastic on July 19 to have thirty of our subscribers and supporters at the PAR PARty, held at Edgerton Park’s Carriage House.
PAR readers through the years were there, including “original” PAR members from the first meeting in 1993, to our current internet subscribers. Conversation, camaraderie, food, and music made it an all-around wonderful gathering.
PAR’s history of local organizing was also on display. There were decades-old PAR newsletters and a poster of PAR documents and minutes of meetings from the 1990s.
For about the first ten years, PAR met once a month. As activists were busy in so many other organizations, the main focus of PAR became creating the newsletter. Judging by how much fun everyone had getting together, the in-person socializing needs to happen more often!
See some photos here ::::
Connecticut Green Energy News, August 22, 2025
Heating Aid in CT Expected to Increase this Winter
CT Mirror: For the first time in four years, state officials in Connecticut are anticipating an increase in energy assistance for low-income families this winter, though it remains to be seen whether much-needed federal funding will come through to provide support for the program. The Department of Social Services recently released its annual projected spending for the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program, including a maximum benefit of $1,920 this winter, which is $160 more than last year.
Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for Clean Energy in Limbo for CT
WSHU: The Trump administration has canceled billions of dollars that were expected to go towards solar and wind energy, including hundreds of millions for Connecticut. The “Solar for All” program was part of the Inflation Reduction Act passed by the Biden administration. It was supposed to help 900,000 low-income households across the country reduce pollution and utility bills through clean energy initiatives. Connecticut was supposed to get more than $60 million for the initiative.
Thoughts on Medical Assisted Suicide Film Showings in September
by Joan Cavanagh, PAMAS member
Recently produced by Progressives Against Medical Assisted Suicide (PAMAS) and Karyl Evans Productions LLC, the 36-minute film, Thoughts on Medical Assisted Suicide, will be presented followed by discussion with the filmmakers and audience members at the Fair Haven Public Library, 182 Grand Ave., on Thursday, Sept. 11 from 6-7:30 p.m. and at the Unitarian Universalist Society of New Haven, 700 Hartford Turnpike, Hamden, on Sept. 14 from noon until 2 p.m.
The film considers the historical context, current practice, and impact on health care of enabling medical providers to offer lethal drugs to patients for the purpose of ending their own lives.
With poetry and song written and performed by West Haven, Connecticut-based poet, songwriter, and performance artist Elaine Kolb, it features interviews with disability and social justice activists including Anita Cameron of Rochester, New York, former Director of Community Outreach at Not Dead Yet; Jules Good, programs coordinator of the Autism Self Advocacy Network and the founder and director of Neighborhood Access LLC of Barrington, New Hampshire; nationally and internationally recognized palliative care specialist Dr. Diane Meier, professor at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine; retired Connecticut disability rights attorney Nancy Alisberg; and five local community activists. It is narrated by Scott Harris, producer of the WPKN radio program, Counterpoint, and includes ASL interpretation by American School for the Deaf Community Interpreting.
Thoughts on Medical Assisted Suicide premiered at the Miller Library in Hamden on March 25 and has since been shown at five other venues in Connecticut, including the West Haven, Woodbridge, and Westville Public Libraries, as well as two classes at the University of Hartford. It is streaming on the PAMAS website, https://pamasprogressives.org, into September.
Please contact PAMAS at progressivesagainstmas@hotmail.com if you know of a venue that might be interested in a future showing and discussion of the film.
For more information, visit the website at https://pamasprogressives.org.
Thoughts on Medical Assisted Suicide was partially funded by the Haymarket People’s Fund and the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, with support from the Patients’ Rights Action Fund and Not Dead Yet, and fiscal sponsorship from the Arts Council of Greater New Haven and the Center for Disability Rights, New York.
Fiesta Latina! Celebrating Hispanic Culture noon to 5 p.m. Sat., Sept. 27 and Sunday, Sept. 28
Junta for Progressive Action will hold a free, family-friendly street festival with live music, dance performances, food vendors, kids’ activities, and cultural pride in full force on Saturday, Sept. 27 from noon to 5 p.m. at its location on 169 Grand Ave. in New Haven.
The Peabody Museum will hold a day of curated exhibits, youth performances, music, dancing, and educational engagement celebrating Hispanic culture on Sunday, Sept. 28 from noon to 5 p.m. at the museum, 170 Whitney Ave.
News about New Haven’s Peace Garden
by Paula Panzarella, Friends of the West River Peace Garden
On July 23, a contingent from Friends of the West River Peace Garden met with managers from Cofield Estates to talk about mutual programs and community resources. The West River Peace Garden is bounded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Ella Grasso Boulevard, and Legion Avenue. The Cofield Estates is a new housing development that abuts the garden.
For decades, where Cofield Estates now stands, this was an empty parcel of land. Members of the West River Self Help Investment Plan (WRSHIP) worked to bring housing to this area for almost 25 years. Finally, it’s been created.
We talked about how the garden became a designated United Nations Peace Garden and why New Haven is a Peace Messenger City. Previously, Mayor Justin Elicker was in contact with Cofield Estates about the Peace Garden.
We mentioned that the Peace Garden would like to have access to a water spigot, and that we can help involve Cofield Estate residents in neighborhood and environmental organizations. We can set up canoe rides at West River Memorial Park, offer bicycle safety classes and repair workshops, and have residents’ teenagers earn volunteer hours at the Peace Garden.
The representatives of Cofield Estates were enthusiastic about the various ways we could help bring programs to the residents, the first of whom moved into the new 56 apartment complex in April.
Within a week of our July 23 meeting, Friends of the West River Peace Garden were given a key to the water spigot on one of the buildings. We now can run lengths of hose to the garden to keep the plants and trees watered. We also can fill up a rain barrel that will store enough water to keep the garden in good shape for two weeks. We look forward to the residents joining us in the garden and in other collaborative projects.
Please consider volunteering! For more information, contact Aaron Goode at aaron.goode@gmail.com, or 203-507-8985. Our website is https://westriverpeacegarden.org.