New Haven Independent

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Nancy Martinez boarded an airplane with dozens of other migrants Thursday morning. She was allegedly shackled by her han...
07/19/2025

Nancy Martinez boarded an airplane with dozens of other migrants Thursday morning. She was allegedly shackled by her hands, feet, and waist, and flown down to Brownsville, Texas.

A month after masked ICE agents seized her in front of her home in the Hill — spiriting her away to detention facilities in Rhode Island, Maine, and New Hampshire — she thought she was finally about to get her chance to appear before a judge in immigration court.

Instead, soon after landing, she and roughly 40 others were put on a bus, driven to the border, and taken to the port of entry by the northern Mexican city of Matamoros.

“When I got to the border, they said I could go now and now I was free,” Martinez recalled federal immigration agents telling her.

But her husband, her 13-year-old daughter, and her 8‑year-old son remained 2,000 miles away in New Haven.

“To be with my children,” she said on Friday. ​“That’s my greatest desire.”

Nancy Martinez boarded an airplane with dozens of other migrants Thursday morning. She was allegedly shackled by her hands, feet, and waist, and flown…

A new for-profit addiction treatment company is looking to bring back to life the former Retreat Behavioral Health site ...
07/18/2025

A new for-profit addiction treatment company is looking to bring back to life the former Retreat Behavioral Health site on Ella T. Grasso Boulevard — a year after the drug rehab facility abruptly closed amid executive suicides, mass layoffs, and the sudden discharge of all patients.

A new for-profit addiction treatment company is looking to bring back to life the former Retreat Behavioral Health site on Ella T. Grasso Boulevard -- a…

With BBQ smoke in the air, Smash HQ mixed-martial arts gym owner Steve Orosco officially launched his Republican run for...
07/18/2025

With BBQ smoke in the air, Smash HQ mixed-martial arts gym owner Steve Orosco officially launched his Republican run for mayor — with a campaign kickoff focused on unseating three-term incumbent Democrat Mayor Justin Elicker.

Now that Orosco has raised just over $5,000 for his challenge campaign, meanwhile, he has triggered the ​“contested election” clause of New Haven’s clean-elections public financing program — thereby allowing Elicker to apply for a city-funded $25,000 grant, which the mayor said he plans to do.

With BBQ smoke in the air, Smash HQ mixed-martial arts gym owner Steve Orosco officially launched his Republican run for mayor -- with a campaign kickoff…

Construction is roughly 70 percent complete for four new affordable two-family homes on Hazel Street — prompting a visit...
07/18/2025

Construction is roughly 70 percent complete for four new affordable two-family homes on Hazel Street — prompting a visit and praise from the governor, as well as a housing-veto-focused critique of the governor by Yale faculty who worked on the project.

The four new houses are being built by the local nonprofit Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven (NHS), as part of the state’s Urban Investment Initiative.

Construction is roughly 70 percent complete for four new affordable two-family homes on Hazel Street -- prompting a visit and praise from the governor, as…

A new creature came to life behind artist Sammi Bechard​’s table Thursday afternoon at Ninth Square’s Orange Street Art ...
07/18/2025

A new creature came to life behind artist Sammi Bechard​’s table Thursday afternoon at Ninth Square’s Orange Street Art Market, a monthly mini-bazaar organized by Downtown New Haven’s Town Green District.

Using a purple marker on a postcard-sized piece of paper, Bechard filled in a bald, alien-esque being’s shirt to match its long pupils. On display, looking out from zines and mini prints, other long-pupiled creatures seemed to blink back.

“There’s a vibe” connecting the characters they draw in this style, Bechard said, pointing out shared traits like flexible noodle arms and bright colors. That, and they’re all clowns.

A new creature came to life behind artist Sammi Bechard’s table Thursday afternoon at Ninth Square's Orange Street Art Market, a monthly mini-bazaar…

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” 115 campers in the Police Activity League’s annual summer program chanted as Mayor Justin Elicker and P...
07/18/2025

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” 115 campers in the Police Activity League’s annual summer program chanted as Mayor Justin Elicker and Police Chief Karl Jacobson braced for impact against a bucket of green slime, courtesy of PAL Director Sgt. Ron Ferrante.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” 115 campers in the Police Activity League’s annual summer program chanted as Mayor Justin Elicker and Police Chief Karl Jacobson braced…

Bearing signs like ​“De-Ice ICE,” ​“People Are Not Cargo,” ​“The Pilgrims Were Undocumented,” and ​“No More Kidnapping F...
07/18/2025

Bearing signs like ​“De-Ice ICE,” ​“People Are Not Cargo,” ​“The Pilgrims Were Undocumented,” and ​“No More Kidnapping Flights,” nearly 150 people gathered outside Tweed New Haven Airport for just the latest protest of Avelo Airlines’ operations of deportation flights for the Trump administration.

Bearing signs like “De-Ice ICE,” “People Are Not Cargo," “The Pilgrims Were Undocumented,” and “No More Kidnapping Flights,” nearly 150 people gathered…

Steve Athenew’s American flag flapped in the wind on the Green Thursday evening, as he joined over a hundred others in p...
07/18/2025

Steve Athenew’s American flag flapped in the wind on the Green Thursday evening, as he joined over a hundred others in protesting the Trump administration in the name of ​“good trouble.”

The protest was part of the nationwide ​“Good Trouble Lives On” protests at over 1500 locations on Thursday. It was a nod to Congressman John Lewis, who died five years ago on Thursday, as well as to his history of civil disobedience and his belief that Americans should take ​“good trouble” to ​“help redeem the soul of America.” The rallies were a way to speak out against the Trump administration, which New Haveners also did last month as part of the nationwide ​“No Kings” protests.

Steve Athenew's American flag flapped in the wind on the Green Thursday evening, as he joined over a hundred others in protesting the Trump administration…

Federal immigration officials on Wednesday seized an Afghan immigrant — a father of five who had served as an interprete...
07/17/2025

Federal immigration officials on Wednesday seized an Afghan immigrant — a father of five who had served as an interpreter for the U.S. military — in the parking lot of a U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) center following a green card application visit.

Federal immigration officials on Wednesday seized an Afghan immigrant -- a father of five and former interpreter for the U.S. military -- outside a U.S.…

Here’s a ​“wild” idea: Fight back. By having fun.
07/17/2025

Here’s a ​“wild” idea: Fight back. By having fun.

Here's a "wild" idea: Fight back. By having fun. Indie singer-songwriter Kristen Ford does that on a trans anthem called "Wild Heart," a single from her…

(Opinion) It took less than a month for Veo’s rent-to-ride scooters to shift from New Haven’s newest and a practical way...
07/17/2025

(Opinion) It took less than a month for Veo’s rent-to-ride scooters to shift from New Haven’s newest and a practical way to get around town, to being an after-dark, dangerous, reckless pastime for city youth.

The offenses committed by dozens of thrill-riding teens are, quite frankly, as egregious and threatening as those of illegal dirt-bike and quad riders. At least we can hear those coming.

(Opinion) It took less than a month for Veo’s rent-to-ride scooters to shift from New Haven’s newest and a practical way to get around town, to being an…

Jake Siesel, the first candidate to enter this year’s Ward 1 Alder race, has officially ended his campaign and thrown hi...
07/17/2025

Jake Siesel, the first candidate to enter this year’s Ward 1 Alder race, has officially ended his campaign and thrown his support behind fellow Democratic candidate Elias Theodore, saying that uniting their efforts would be the most effective way to advance their shared goal of strengthening connections between Yale students and the broader New Haven community.

Siesel’s exit of the race — less than a week before the July 21 Democratic Town Committee convention — leaves a total of three candidates still vying to replace one-term incumbent Democrat Kiana Flores.

Jake Siesel, the first candidate to enter this year’s Ward 1 Alder race, has officially ended his campaign and thrown his support behind fellow Democratic…

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