New Haven Independent

2011: The Year Grassroots Challenged Power

2011-12-29T13:00:34Z

From the police department to the schools to neighborhood voting precincts, New Haveners made new demands on entrenched power this past year, and now face the challenge of translating protest into palpable change in 2012.

Midnight Parking Plan Squeaks Through

2011-08-10T12:21:12Z

It’s official: Downtown visitors will need to feed meters like this one for an extra five hours, thanks to a vote that went down to the wire at the city’s traffic commission.

Privatization Baby Split In Half

2011-08-01T12:14:19Z

The first aftershocks of the labor debacle in Hartford may have been felt in New Haven, where City Hall and negotiators for school custodians have stopped fighting and managed to reach a long-elusive contract agreement that includes a Solomonic solution to an outsourcing dispute.

TD Securities Snags $44.5M Bond Sale

2011-07-20T19:44:00Z

In New Haven, some people heard alarm bells. In the bond market, underwriters heard opportunity knocking—so six of them lined up for the chance to buy bonds from the city.

In Westville, A 21st Century Campaign

2011-07-11T11:55:37Z

Darryl Brackeen, Jr. screwed a camcorder onto a tripod, set it up in his front yard, and unveiled his latest campaign proposal—handing out numerical grades to city workers and departments.

Move Over, Avis

2011-07-06T12:03:49Z

City government workers like Shirley Dixon may still be typing into their HP computers if a mayoral candidate wins office, but they may have to start “renting” the machines.

Malloy Slams City After All

2011-06-29T21:54:49Z

After promising to shield New Haven in round one of his last-minute budget cuts, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy now proposes to send New Haven a new $5 million-plus hit—and a move to stop him has begun.

Broadway Lease Approved

2011-06-07T11:36:16Z

A year ago, aldermen passed a budget with a soft center by the name of Innovation Based Budgeting (IBB), a nebulous multimillion-dollar revenue and savings plan that never lived up to its promise. On Monday evening, aldermen agreed to sell a downtown parking lot to fill the hole left by IBB.

Minus Title, Broadway Lot “Lease” Speeds Ahead

2011-06-01T11:51:01Z

A $3 million plan to lease a downtown parking lot is a de facto sale of the property to Yale. So why not just sell it? One reason: The city isn’t sure it owns it.

$475M Budget Passed

2011-05-23T22:43:06Z

With a handful of dissents, the Board of Aldermen voted Monday night to approve a $475 million budget for the coming fiscal year.