Hometown Heroes

Sgt. Dad Reports For Pick-Up

by | Nov 15, 2021 4:52 pm | Comments (4)

Maya McFadden Photos

Operation Hug: Staff sergeant Andre Cunningham greets 4-year-old Moriah after four-month deployment.

Serenity before her father’s surprise arrival.

Andre Cunningham came home from a four-month deployment in the Middle East a week early — and deployed to Benjamin Jepson School for a surprise mission.

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Bishop Davis Leaves His Mark

by | Sep 20, 2021 8:20 am | Comments (2)

Maya McFadden Photos

Elijah Davis Jr. leads final service as pastor: God needs fishers of men.

New sign revealed.

En route to leading his last service as pastor of Pitts Chapel Unified Free Will Church, Elijah Davis Jr. accidentally left his bible in the limo. So he ditched his planned sermon and preached a word about fishermen and loyalty.

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Hoops Star Remembers Kids Back Home

by | Aug 13, 2021 4:39 pm | Comments (3)

Maya McFadden Photo

WNBA’s Tanaya Atkinson at Friday’s giveaway.

Barber Brian MacCalla give 5-year-old Jayce Smith a shape-up at Friday’s back-to-school event.

As basketball star Tanaya Atkinson prepared to fly out of the country, she passed the rock to kids back home in New Haven to ensure they have filled book bags and free fresh hair cuts in time to return to school.

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Parks Hero Gets His Due

by | Jul 6, 2021 3:14 pm | Comments (7)

Contributed Photo

David Burgess at work.

Natalie Kainz Photo

David Burgess in the park Tuesday with citation from the Connecticut General Assembly.

David Burgess has worked five days a week since the days of the first George Bush Administration to clean debris out of New Haven’s waterways, sweep up trash in Edgewood Park, and plant shrubs around the city — and people noticed.

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1 Day, 3 Pivots: Neighbors Feed Neighbors

by | Feb 1, 2021 10:32 am | Comments (3)

Maya McFadden Photo

Honda Smith and Andrea Daniels-Singleton in the kitchen before hitting the road to deliver meals in West Hills.

As temperatures swooped below freezing, New Haveners delivered sustenance to their neighbors: bags of prepared beef and potatoes for seniors in West Hills, groceries for hungry families in the Hill, Mystic cheese and locally produced honey for farmers market shoppers in Wooster Square.

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Ambassador Jeff Keeps Downtown Masked

by | Jan 22, 2021 4:14 pm | Comments (6)

Thomas Breen photos

Ambassador Lee on his mask giveaway shift on Church Street.

Jeff Lee approached a Church Street bus stop, his gloved hands carrying a plastic brochure holder stacked with 60 bright blue surgical masks.

He paused six feet away from a small crowd seeking shelter from the morning cold, then posed a question.

Does anybody need an extra mask?”

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