Halloween goes green, on the Green
At 10:30 a.m. today, Mayor John DeStefano Jr. will host his annual Halloween Parade on the New Haven Green. The parade, expected to host over 1200 costumed children, is themed “New Haven: Going Green” and will explore reusable energy options and promote city-wide recycling. This event is also intended to provide children with a “safe and supportive” way to celebrate the holiday by featuring the children themselves in various performances. Starting at the corner of Temple and Chapel streets, the parade will continue up Chapel and circle on High Street, returning to the opposite corner of the Green via Elm Street.
—Taylor Lasley
In Public Health Preparedness Plan, city preempts flu season
On Saturday, the New Haven Health Department will offer free seasonal flu vaccines to residents, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The shots will be administered at eight locations throughout the city, with the flagship station at Hill Regional Career High School on Legion Avenue. The city’s health department will “deploy mobile teams of nurses” to elderly housing sites during the day. Free vaccines will be available at Career High School; the other sites require payment in the form of Medicare Part B or $25 cash, though no one in need will be turned away.
—Yale Daily News
Shooting suspect found in trash bin
Three New Haven police officers were involved in a pursuit and shooting with a suspect Wednesday. At 10:22 p.m., a New Haven police officer responded to a domestic disturbance call on 150 Quinnipiac Ave. The suspect, Luis Claudio, ran from the scene, and an officer pursued on foot. The officer was then picked up by two others who had recently made arrests in an earlier street robbery, and the three pursued Claudio by car. Upon finding him, two officers exited the vehicle. The suspect shot at them with a handgun. One officer returned fire but did not hit Claudio, who then disappeared to be found a short time later in a nearby trash receptacle.
—Harrison Korn
In-street traffic calming signs warmly received
Reception has been positive for a pilot crosswalk sign program launched by the city Oct. 15. The chartreuse signs have been placed at five crosswalks around New Haven to prompt more cautious driving around pedestrian zones. City transportation director Mike Piscitelli said the main instigators of the idea were the Elm City Cycling group and a collection of Yale Medical School students who came together after a classmate was struck and killed by a car earlier this year. The signs have received warm responses from citizens, and many private groups in the city have either requested more signs or else bought their own.
—Horace Williams
Digital pirate arrested, treasures revealed
Fifty-year-old Leonard Draines, a resident of West Haven, was arrested by New Haven police Wednesday for selling and distributing thousands of pirated DVDs and CDs, many of which are of movies currently in theaters — a violation of copyright laws stipulated by the Recording Industries Association of America and the Motion Pictures of American. Police officers seized over 2,900 illegal DVDs and hundreds of counterfeit CDs Thursday at Draines’s site of operation: Kevin’s Seafood on 17 Kimberly Ave. The arrest of Draines reflects the New Haven Police Department’s increased focus on hunting down purveyors of illegal digital property.
—Jerry Feng