Author Archives: Martine Powers

There aren’t many black student journalists at Yale. We’re talking single digits. During my four years at the News, students of color on the editorial board have been few and far between. It’s the same for the Herald. I’ve never seen another black person in any of the journalism or writing seminars that I’ve taken. »

In the spring of 2007, the New Haven Police Department suffered a grave blow to its reputation. Two of its officers were arrested, including the head of the department’s narcotics unit, Lt. William “Billy” White. Two more would later be implicated in a corruption sting that exposed those officers as dishonest and undeserving of the »

As Mayor John DeStefano Jr., in search of his ninth straight term, gears up for the final stretch of his campaign, his re-election staff is changing the way the mayor reaches out to New Haven voters. In the months leading up to the Nov. 3 general election, DeStefano is spending more time getting face-to-face time »

After 20 months in the Ward 1 aldermanic seat, Rachel Plattus ’09 has drawn — and will even admit to — a major criticism of her tenure. Plattus herself said her visibility to and communication with her primary constituency — those Elis who live in Ward 1 — left something to be desired. But despite »

Although four months remain until the official start of his term, Ward 1 aldermanic candidate Mike Jones ’11 is starting to step into his new shoes. Five months after winning a contentious battle against Katie Harrison ’11 and Minh Tran ’09 for the Ward 1 Democratic endorsement vote, Jones stands unopposed, and it looks as »

With the media frenzy over the murder of Annie Le GRD ’13, some aldermen are calling for long-term changes in city safety. Ward 23 Alderman Yusuf Shah said yesterday that he and Ward 21 Alderwoman Katrina Jones plan to introduce a piece of legislation to the board in response to Le’s death that will address »

By just eight votes, incumbent Greg Morehead won Tuesday’s Democratic primary, beating out Lisa Hopkins and Cordelia Thorpe for the Ward 22 aldermanic seat. Morehead, the candidate backed by Mayor John DeStefano Jr., won 50 percent of the vote, or 224 of the 445 ballots cast. Lisa Hopkins, who was backed by State Rep. Gary »

As the final battle between aldermanic candidates commences in today’s citywide Democratic primary, the clout of Yale unions may help clinch a winner. Yale union Local 34, which represents clerical and technical workers, has officially endorsed three aldermanic hopefuls: Ward 28 candidate Claudette Robinson-Thorpe, Ward 24 candidate Liz McCormack and Ward 10 candidate Allan Brison. »

For Ward 22 aldermanic hopefuls Lisa Hopkins and incumbent Greg Morehead, last night’s candidate forum proved a last-ditch effort to communicate coherent platforms. And they both centered on similar aims: public safety and economic development. About 30 people, both Yale students and local Ward 22 residents, assembled in the Timothy Dwight College common room for »

After a year of touting his plans for a city-sponsored college scholarship program, Mayor John DeStefano Jr. has finally established who will receive the first round of funding from the so-called “Promise Program” — the New Haven public high school class of 2011. At a back-to-school celebration at John C. Daniels School on Friday, DeStefano »

As the three candidates for the Ward 22 aldermanic seat continue to vie for Yale votes, one thing has become clear: This time, it’s personal. The central tenets of two of the candidates’ respective campaigns are not starkly different. Both incumbent Greg Morehead and challenger Lisa Hopkins are advocating for safer streets, greater support for »

After Ward 1 aldermanic hopeful Mike Jones ’11 provided a quote to NBC Connecticut to dismiss the controversial “Scouting Report,” he later asserted in a e-mail to the Women’s Center on Friday that his statement had been misrepresented. In an article published Friday morning by the local news station, Jones appeared to excuse the creators »