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Juan Mendoza, a seventh grader at Fair Haven Middle School, used to be fat. Like most overweight kids in middle school, he endured his share of taunting. But as much as it bothered him, he didn?t know how to change his situation. ?I used to just eat and not really care. I didn?t know why … Continue reading The Fat Trap

Juan Mendoza, a seventh grader at Fair Haven Middle School, used to be fat. Like most overweight kids in middle school, he endured his share of taunting. But as much as it bothered him, he didn?t know how to change his situation. ?I used to just eat and not really care. I didn?t know why I was eating what I was eating,? he remembered. At the end of the school day, having skipped lunch and breakfast, Juan would hit the vending machines and stuff himself. . . Read more

Devil?s Night earned its name in Fair Haven this year. Near midnight on October 30, an empty barn on Wolcott Street went up in flames. A few blocks away, an abandoned home on James Street met the same fate. Across the neighborhood at a house on Lombard Street, a car slammed into the garage door, … Continue reading Bonfire of the Vanities

Devil?s Night earned its name in Fair Haven this year. Near midnight on October 30, an empty barn on Wolcott Street went up in flames. A few blocks away, an abandoned home on James Street met the same fate. Across the neighborhood at a house on Lombard Street, a car slammed into the garage door, reversed, and sped away. The car too was later found consumed by flames. When the sun rose on Halloween, both buildings and the car had burned to rubble; no trace. . . Read more

We?re looking at a classic match-up here, folks, and the stakes couldn?t be higher. Think Liston-Clay but a whole lot sweeter?and glazier. On November 19, the Milford, Connecticut, donut world will change forever. A brand new Krispy Kreme on Boston Post Road is set to square off against perennial favorite?and Boston Post Road neighbor?Dunkin? Donuts. … Continue reading Holey Wars

We?re looking at a classic match-up here, folks, and the stakes couldn?t be higher. Think Liston-Clay but a whole lot sweeter?and glazier. On November 19, the Milford, Connecticut, donut world will change forever. A brand new Krispy Kreme on Boston Post Road is set to square off against perennial favorite?and Boston Post Road neighbor?Dunkin? Donuts. The grand opening is part of Kreme?s master plan to usurp Dunkin?s worldwide donut hegemony. Kreme first established itself as a major player on the Connecticut donut scene with an. . . Read more

Framing Sacco and Vanzetti by Sara Hirschhorn One fall day in 1971, Neil Thomas Proto had an epiphany. It wasn?t about God, or Vietnam, or flower power, or love. For the George Washington University law student, studying the execution of two Italian-American shopkeepers for robbery and murder in a Boston prison on August 23, 1927, … Continue reading Points of Departure

Framing Sacco and Vanzetti by Sara Hirschhorn One fall day in 1971, Neil Thomas Proto had an epiphany. It wasn?t about God, or Vietnam, or flower power, or love. For the George Washington University law student, studying the execution of two Italian-American shopkeepers for robbery and murder in a Boston prison on August 23, 1927, was an awakening. Proto recalls hearing a few conversations about the case in a class and going to see a recently released film on the subject (the one with the. . . Read more

I have butterflies in my stomach,? Charlie Pillsbury tells us, smiling hopefully as he guides his bicycle into the street. In spite of his silver beard, khaki shorts, and bike helmet, he speaks to the cluster of reporters and carries himself in a way that reminds me of Gregory Peck playing Atticus Finch in To … Continue reading Pedalling Politics

I have butterflies in my stomach,? Charlie Pillsbury tells us, smiling hopefully as he guides his bicycle into the street. In spite of his silver beard, khaki shorts, and bike helmet, he speaks to the cluster of reporters and carries himself in a way that reminds me of Gregory Peck playing Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird. The four of us accompanying Charlie on the ride finish stretching, eager to begin. Swinging our legs over the bicycle frames and settling into our toe clips,. . . Read more

A few weeks ago, I watched from a distance as an eclectic group of New Haven residents bearing homemade signs and banners gathered on the courthouse steps to file a war crimes indictment. Their list of alleged war criminals included George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell, and they were pressing for … Continue reading A Separate Peace

A few weeks ago, I watched from a distance as an eclectic group of New Haven residents bearing homemade signs and banners gathered on the courthouse steps to file a war crimes indictment. Their list of alleged war criminals included George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell, and they were pressing for prosecution. A greying, unassuming man clad in stained and faded jeans and an old denim jacket addressed the crowd through a megaphone: ?We are resisting and showing our protest to. . . Read more

Today?s sermon is on the burden of hopelessness. To begin, the Reverend Dr. W. David Lee?pastor of New Haven?s most distinguished and most ancient black congregation, Varick Memorial ame Zion Church; graduate of Syracuse University, Yale Divinity School, and Union Theological Seminary; and most recently a candidate for a seat on the Yale Corporation?quotes not … Continue reading Black and Blue

Today?s sermon is on the burden of hopelessness. To begin, the Reverend Dr. W. David Lee?pastor of New Haven?s most distinguished and most ancient black congregation, Varick Memorial ame Zion Church; graduate of Syracuse University, Yale Divinity School, and Union Theological Seminary; and most recently a candidate for a seat on the Yale Corporation?quotes not from psalms or prophets, but from the early hip-hop innovator Grandmaster Flash. ?It?s like a jungle sometimes,? he intones from the pulpit. ?It?s like a jungle sometimes, it makes me. . . Read more

When she takes the floor in the elegant atrium of Beinecke Library, Yale Provost Alison Richard reminds us of a recent past that nonetheless feels as ancient as the library’s volumes. "When I came to Yale in 1972," she begins, "there were six tenured women faculty. Now every year there are more and more women. … Continue reading The Feminine Critique

When she takes the floor in the elegant atrium of Beinecke Library, Yale Provost Alison Richard reminds us of a recent past that nonetheless feels as ancient as the library’s volumes. "When I came to Yale in 1972," she begins, "there were six tenured women faculty. Now every year there are more and more women. But I am not going to spout statistics at you." She does not need to. Tonight’s audience speaks for itself. Almost a hundred women have come together under the auspices. . . Read more