State Senator Doug McCrory (D-Hartford) welcomed the state’s announcement that $724,739.48 in state support will be released to schools in the 2nd Senate District to support the hiring and retention of school mental health specialists for the 2024, 2025 and 2026 school years. These grants were spurred by the passage of key legislation passed in 2022 by Senate Democrats, supporting youth mental health amid increasing reports of challenges students face today. “Encouraging our kids to talk about their mental health will help them on the road to recovery,” said Sen. McCrory. “Increasing access to ..read more

(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he has signed into law legislation implementing procedures into state statutes that protect seniors from suspected cases of financial fraud, scams, and exploitation by a person who is taking care of an older adult. Specifically, this law authorizes financial institutions to temporarily suspend or hold transactions involving an account of an adult over the age of 60 if there is a reasonable suspicion of financial exploitation, which is defined as taking advantage of an eligible adult by another person or caretaker for monetary, personal ..read more

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that VICTOR CUEVAS, 59, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to eight months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to defraud a New Haven Probate Judge candidate in 2017. According to court documents and statements made in court, Cuevas co-operated a Connecticut-based political consulting business called Yellow Dog Strategies (“YDS”). In 2017, YDS was paid $5,750 to collect 1,000 petition signatures from registered D ..read more

Nicole Hughey, New Chair of the Urban League of Greater Hartford. HARTFORD, CT – The Urban League of Greater Hartford (ULGH) Board of Directors elected new officers for the 2023-2024 Board year at its Annual Meeting, added four new Directors, and reported another year of improved financials, staff additions, and continued community impact. Nicole Hughey, SiriusXM Senior Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Social Impact, was elected Chair of the Board of Directors, effective July 1, 2023. The other elected officers of the 59-year-old nonprofit are: Vice-Chair Renee Coleman-M ..read more

PHOTO: Treasurer Russell signs Trust documents with Deputy Treasurer Sarah Sanders (right) and Chief of Staff Andréa Comer (left) Hartford, CT – Treasurer Erick Russell announced the creation of the Connecticut Baby Bond Trust on Tuesday. Legal documents forming the Trust have been filed and $398 million in funds have been moved into the Trust, which will hold and invest funds for the first-in-the-nation CT Baby Bonds program. CT Baby Bonds is an innovative policy to combat generational poverty and promote economic opportunity through direct investments in young people. Eligibility for the pro ..read more

Endorsements: Considering So-Called Support Versus Real Commitment The Inquiring News values our readers and appreciates being able to be a voice for people of color. As we continue to celebrate over 50 years of service and reporting, we bring valuable information to our people who are often ignored by mainstream media for the good that we do. We leave the bad news up to that mainstream media. But as you often see, many candidates load you with a loud message of change and leadership without the commitment behind it. People of color continue to be the last in actually receiving the funds they ..read more

Bloomfield, CT – (Joe Morelli, CT Insider) – The Bloomfield boys basketball coach Kevin Moses died on Monday. Facebook tributes began to pour in later on Mon- day in honor of the coach who had a GoFundMe Page was established on Sunday revealing he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 Colon Cancer. Moses’ death comes just six months after he coached Bloomfield to the CIAC Division IV state championship. “Today is a day none of knew was coming. Today is a day none of us wanted to happen. Today is a day we lost one of our own. A father, friend, husband, brother, mentor, and to many of us a coach. Kevi ..read more

Africans and other world travelers during the 17th and 18th centuries brought with them or were introduced to Freemasonry within the Western Hemisphere (North and south America) and came to share these secrets and symbols with inhabitants of the Caribbean and adjacent areas. There is general agreement that Freemasonry already was well established as the British and Spanish explorers invaded these communities during the mid-1600. It is very likely that much in advance of ‘slavery’ in the Americas. Men of color (although often at great risk) were at work as craftsmen. Laboring in and enjoying th ..read more

‘A great opportunity for Black banks across the country’ By Angela Swinson Lee Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from the Washington Informer (TriceEdneyWire.com) – The year 2022 has proven to be a big year for B. Doyle Mitchell Jr., president and CEO of Industrial Bank, based in the nation’s capital. Not only has he celebrated a milestone birthday this year, but funding from the federal government and a community partnership may help to take the district’s Black-owned bank to the next level. In June, the bank received $82 million from the U.S. Treasury Department’s ..read more

By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. Several months ago, I co-wrote an op-ed with my long-term friend and national media colleague, Jim Winston. Our commentary emphasized why “Diversifying American Media Ownership Must Become a National Priority.”   Now after the results of the high turnout of communities of color and young voters in the recent Mid-Term Elections across the United States, it is time once again to reiterate the relevance and importance of ensuring an increase in the multiracial diversification of ownership of radio and TV broadcast stations as well as all other media platfo ..read more