Author Archives: Nick Defiesta

With the latest figures from City Hall showing 12.9 percent of New Haveners without work, the city has begun the first stages of a “pipeline” intended to help funnel Elm City residents into jobs. The pipeline — a term Mayor John DeStefano Jr. adopted from some of the Board of Aldermen’s new labor-backed representatives — »

The federal government is paying $350,000 to 11 New Haven men who claimed their constitutional rights were violated during immgiration raids in 2007 as part of a settlement announced Wednesday. The plaintiffs were among approximately 30 people arrested during the raids, which took place in the Fair Haven neighborhood in June 2007. The lawsuit, originally »

United States Rep. Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts, came to Yale Monday to address U.S. policy toward Israel and the state of American politics in front of about 200 people. During the talk, sponsored by Yale Hillel and the Yale College Democrats, Frank, who is Jewish, argued that Democrats have compelling reasons to support Israel »

State lawmakers convened in Hartford this week for a legislative session that began amid doubts about the state’s fiscal stability. After recent budget estimates painted a bleaker-than-expected picture of Connecticut’s finances, Gov. Dannel Malloy opened the session Wednesday with a call for an “economic revival” in his annual State of the State address. Malloy pushed »

It’s almost election season again in New Haven — this time, for seats on the Democratic Town Committee. The deadline to register to run for ward co-chair in each of New Haven’s 30 wards passed last week, with only Ben Crosby ’13 and Nia Holston ’14 entering the race together in Ward 1, which includes »

One month into his record-setting 10th term, Mayor John DeStefano Jr. used his annual State of the City address to lay out a plan for the city Monday evening. Speaking before a Board of Aldermen meeting, DeStefano spoke to the aldermen and members of the public in a full aldermanic chamber about his priorities for »

This week, state Democrats introduced a proposal that would raise the minimum wage by $1.50 over the next two years. On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Chris Donovan of Meriden introduced legislation that would raise the minimum wage by $0.75 each year for the next two years, bringing it to $9.00 per hour this year »

The Yale College Democrats launched their statewide advocacy work Monday night, outlining the causes they plan to push in the state legislature’s upcoming legislative session. Around 40 members of the Dems met with State Sen. Martin Looney and State Reps. Roland Lemar and Gary Holder-Winfield, members of New Haven’s delegation to Hartford, to discuss what »

This week’s aldermanic committee assignments have sketched out the spheres of influence that the 19 newly elected aldermen will assume. The committee assignments, which were determined by Board of Aldermen President Jorge Perez of Ward 5 and other board leadership, were released earlier this week. Five of the 10 aldermanic committees will be chaired by »

The New Haven Police Department will move 21 officers from its investigative division to patrol as it rolls out its community policing strategy throughout the Elm City’s 10 districts. NHPD Chief Dean Esserman and Mayor John DeStefano Jr. announced their plans for the department at a Thursday morning press conference at the Newhallville police substation, »

City politicos this week threw their weight behind candidates who hope to replace U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman ’64 LAW ’67, who is vacating his seat when his term ends this year. Nearly 100 city Democrats, including members of the Board of Aldermen and Yale College Democrats, attended a fundraiser at the East Rock home of »

With two weeks before the start of this year’s legislative session, Connecticut’s Senate Democrats proposed a jobs plan they say will help the state continue its economic recovery. Several senators held a press conference Tuesday afternoon at AdChem Manufacturing Technologies headquarters in Manchester to unveil a proposal they said is one of their highest priorities »