Category: Uncategorized

New Warming Center, 645 Grand Ave.

The City has now secured additional funding from the state to create a new warming center space at the existing 645 Grand Ave. shelter.

To find shelters and warming centers in Connecticut, call 211. In New Haven, there is also a list at bit.ly/4pcAbLV. More information is at newhavenct.gov/homeless.

We ask our readers to print out the list and have copies on hand to give to people in need of a warm, safe place.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service and Celebration

by Yale Peabody Museum

Monday, January 19

Noon – 4:00 p.m. Festival / Family Day

4 – 7 p.m. Community Poetry and Poetry Slam

MLK Celebration | Yale Peabody Museum

170 Whitney Avenue, New Haven

Join over a dozen community organizations as they gather at the Yale Peabody Museum to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s work, offering knowledge about food, educational, racial, and environmental justice. Set against the wonder of the museum, students from the New Haven Public Schools will share music and dance. Immerse yourself in what the New Haven community offers at the Yale Peabody Museum!

The Peabody will host the Z Experience Poetry Slam in our Central Gallery from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Hosted by Croilot Adames Semexant, this long-running spoken word event attracts a large and supportive crowd every year, and will wrap up the day’s events of our Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service and Celebration. Admission to the slam is free and suggested for adults.

This event is preceded by a Community Poetry Open Mic session, hosted by Frederick-Douglass Knowles II, in David Friend Hall at 4:00 p.m.

Community Poetry Open Mic
Hosted by Frederick-Douglass Knowles II
4 p.m.

Invitational Poetry Slam
Hosted by Croilot Adames Semexant
5 – 7 p.m.

Slam Teams:
Charm City Slam (Maryland)
Fruity Fudge (Rhode Island)
New Word Order (Massachusetts)
Slamherst (Massachusetts)
Verbal Slap (Connecticut)

Peabody.yale.edu/events/mlk-celebration

Peabody.yale.edu/events/z-experience-poetry-slam

65-Year-Old Dies After Night on the Green

Thomas Breen, Dec. 19, 2025, New Haven Independent

A 65-year-old homeless man died after police said he spent the night on a bench on the Green last week as temperatures dipped below freezing.

On that very same night, the Elicker administration opened a third temporary warming center after New Haven’s other two reached capacity. The city has subsequently created space for 35 more people to get out of the cold at an existing Grand Avenue shelter.

City police spokesperson Officer Christian Bruckhart told the Independent that a 65-year-old man named Abdulah Kanchero was picked up by an ambulance on the Green at around 7:30 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 12. He was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

Bruckhart and the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) told the Independent on Friday that the cause and manner of Kanchero’s death are still under investigation.

Kanchero was originally from Ethiopia. His last known address was the 645 Grand Ave. homeless shelter.

Bruckhart said surveillance video showed that Kanchero originally sat down on a bench near Chapel Street and Temple Street on the Green at around 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11.

It was cold that night, Bruckhart said. Kanchero was by himself.

Warming Centers Reach Capacity; Grand Shelter Expanded

On the same night that Kanchero spent on a bench on the Green, the city’s two warming centers — at Varick church on Dixwell Avenue and the 180 Center on East Street — were filled to capacity.

[To read the article in its entirety, please go to bit.ly/48TS90E.]

2025 Walk to End Alzheimer’s, Sunday, Sept. 28

The Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s is the world’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. Held annually in more than 600 communities nationwide, this inspiring event calls on participants of all ages and abilities to join the fight against the disease.

The New Haven walk will take place on Sunday, Sept. 28 at Lighthouse Point Park, 2 Lighthouse Road in New Haven. There is the option of a one- or two-mile walk.

The event opens at 9 a.m., followed by a ceremony at 10 a.m. Paula and Frank Panzarella, PAR Planning Committee members, will be in the walk, which begins at 10:30 a.m. You can register to join their team and walk with them or make a donation at bit.ly/3VfxtIN.

Info: Caroline Kachmar, 860-362-0936, ckachmar@alz.org.

The PARty 2025

Join the PARty 1-4 p.m. July 19, 2025, Edgerton Park Carriage House

It’s summer, which means it’s the time for Progressive Action Roundtable readers and supporters to gather together for food, music, fellowship and fun.

See old friends and make new ones from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, July 19, 2025, at the Edgerton Park Carriage House. Offerings for the potluck are welcome.

Please RSVP at parnewhaven@hotmail.com or by calling 203-887-4778.

Thank you and we hope to see you there!

 

Reminder: New Haven Green Fund Grant Applications Due Jan. 31, 2025

Apply for funding for community projects in New Haven, Hamden, Woodbridge and East Haven that will improve our quality of life through environmental and sustainability initiatives.

Visit www.gnhgreenfund.org for details, or email info@gnhgreenfund.org with any questions. Applications are due Jan. 31, 2025. Grant awards are for amounts up to $10,000. Microgrants and sponsorships throughout the year are available for up to $1,000.

Civil Rights Town Hall: Implications of a 2nd Trump Administration

by American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Connecticut

We want to hear from you. The Trump administration’s agenda promises a significant blow to civil rights and liberties in Connecticut and nationwide. The ACLU has a plan. We are prepared to meet this moment. Join us for a Town Hall event to hear from our team and to be heard.

The ACLU of Connecticut invites you to attend one of these free, public events we are hosting across the state. Hear from expert legal, policy, and communications staff who are ready to answer questions about the implications of a new administration for the civil liberties you care about most:

  • Free Speech & The Right to Assemble
  • Immigrants’ Rights
  • Reproductive Rights & Bodily Autonomy
  • LGBTQIA+ Rights
  • Criminal Legal System
  • Government Surveillance
  • Voting Rights

Join us from 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, at the Ives Main Library, 133 Elm St., New Haven to learn more about the ACLU’s plan to address threats and opportunities, ask questions, and learn about how you can help. RSVP: https://tinyurl.com/3aeasenz For other CT meetings, see https://www.acluct.org/en/townhalls or call 860-523-9146.

Many Are in Financial Crisis Because of Exorbitant Electric, Gas and Oil Rates

There are programs that can help lower-income people with electric and heating bills. To find out about eligibility, contact the Community Action Agency of New Haven at 419 Whalley Ave.

You can call 203-285-8018, or email socialmedia@caanh.net. More information is on their website at https://www.caanh.net/energy-assistance.

If you live outside of New Haven, call 211 for the appropriate agency in your town or city.

Thanksgiving Volunteers Needed

The Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen is in partnership with many organizations in New Haven to make sure EVERYONE is provided with a Thanksgiving meal.

Would you like to volunteer? Please go to deskct.org/tday where you can see the various volunteer shifts, tasks and locations. You can also email volunteer@deskct.org or phone (475) 238-6170.

Exploring Options for Voting in Elections and Primaries

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont established a working group and tasked them with reviewing options and developing a comprehensive legislative proposal that could be presented to the Connecticut General Assembly to create a system of ranked-choice voting in Connecticut. Such a system would provide municipalities and political parties with the option of using ranked-choice voting in caucuses, conventions, primaries, and certain municipal elections.

Current state law does not enable the use of ranked-choice voting in any primaries or elections.
This working group consists of members representing various political affiliations. They have been asked to develop a final report of recommendations that could be presented to the legislature in time for consideration during the 2025 regular legislative session.

“Ranked-choice voting has been used with success in other states throughout the U.S. for many years, and there is a growing consensus in Connecticut that enacting this system here will benefit our voters. I want this multi-partisan working group to review how those systems operate, ascertain best practices, and collaboratively determine the best way that it can be implemented in Connecticut so that our municipalities and political parties have this option available to them.” — Governor Lamont

CT Bills That Didn’t Pass in 2024: EV Study, Eviction Reform, More

by Gabby DeBenedictis, CT Mirror, May 13, 2024

Connecticut’s 2024 legislative session ended on Wednesday night [May 8] with lawmakers passing a bevy of bills concerning housing, elder care, K-12 education and more.

But a large number of bills never made it out of their committees, and many of those that did were never voted on by the full legislature. …

Here…[are] some of the bills that didn’t come up for a full vote this year, but that legislators will likely revisit next year.

Electric vehicles

After efforts to phase out the sale of new gas-powered cars in Connecticut by 2035 failed, the legislature considered a bill that would have created a 40-person group to assess a transition to electric vehicles in the state.

That bill — part of an effort to reduce motor vehicle emissions, Connecticut’s largest source of pollution — never came up for a vote in the House.

‘Just cause’ evictions

A bill that would have required landlords to provide a reason, or “just cause,” when they evict tenants at the end of their leases passed out of the Housing Committee but was never voted on in the full House or Senate.

Connecticut already protects against evictions without cause for senior citizens and people with disabilities. The bill would have expanded those protections to most tenants who live in apartments with five or more units.

Falsified traffic tickets

Proposed by Gov. Ned Lamont, House Bill 5055 would have made it a Class D felony for any person acting in a law enforcement capacity to knowingly make false written statements or enter false information into a law enforcement record and explicitly make those acts a basis for decertification of an officer’s policing license. …

Though it passed the House unanimously, it was not voted on in the Senate.

Tipped minimum wage

A proposal to eliminate Connecticut’s tipped minimum wage — currently $6.38 for wait staff and $8.23 for bartenders — passed the Labor and Public Employees Committee but was not voted on by the full House or Senate.

The bill would have brought wages for tipped workers in line with the state’s minimum wage, which is currently $15.69 per hour.

[See entire article here: ctmirror.org/2024/05/13/ct-2024-legislative-session-failed-bills]

Next Deadline for Newsletter Articles: Saturday, Aug. 17, 2024

Please submit copy to parnewhaven@hotmail.com. 350-word limit. Questions? Call Paula at 203-562-2798. The next issue is our September issue. Please let us know what events your group has planned. Subscription: $13 for 10 issues, check payable to PAR, 608 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511.

Reminder: The PAR Newsletter does not publish in July or August. Your next newsletter will be the September issue. Summer updates will be on our website par-newhaven.org.

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