Protesters demand end to US blockade of Cuba

 

 By Reginald Johnson

 

   NEW HAVEN --- Daily news reports out of Miami have shown Cuban-Americans waving flags and marching loudly in support of the anti-government protests in Cuba.

 Demonstrators have denounced Cuban leaders for allegedly ruining the economy of Cuba and openly call for the United States to invade the island and topple the communist regime.

  Getting little attention from the media have been demonstrations in the US expressing support for Cuba’s government and demanding that the United States end its hostile policy towards the Caribbean nation.

 One of those rallies took place in New Haven last week, where a group of about a dozen activists marched to the office of Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn and urged her to lobby for relaxing harmful sanctions against Cuba and ending the 60-year-old trade embargo against Cuba.

  “The protest was very good,’ said Henry Lowendorf, chair of Greater New Haven Peace Council. “We had a couple of Cuban flags and we had one sign that said “Stop the Embargo --- Stop the Blockade.”

  A representative from DeLauro’s office came out and listened to the group make their case for changing American policy towards Cuba.

 “We pointed out that Rosa had signed a letter in March of this year along with 78 other members of Congress calling on President Biden to get rid all these restrictions, restrictions which Trump generated and pursue normalization of relations,” said Lowendorf.

  “But Biden has not done that,”  he said, adding that the president has instead “doubled-down” on the Trump sanctions, which include prohibiting the mailing of remittances from Cuban families in the US to their relatives in Cuba and closing down US tourism to the nation.

 Those sanctions have had a devastating effect on the Cuban economy.

 The end of the congressional letter called for an end to the US trade embargo in effect since 1961 --- one of the longest-standing trade embargoes in history.

  The blockade has crippled the ability of the Cuban government to trade with other nations and obtain badly-needed food and medical supplies. Right now, the government is unable to administer COVID vaccines due to a lack of syringes.

 “We need to take the knee of the United States off the neck of the Cuban people, because we’re asphyxiating them,” said Lowendorf. “This is Derek Chauvin on George Floyd on an international level.”

  Lowendorf said the group wants DeLauro “to follow up on the letter, pressure the White House and publicly announce that she’s done this. There’s no reason why she should not do a news release on this.”

  

Scene from Havana, Cuba. The nation has been under economic siege by the US for 60 years. (Photo from cubaeducationaltravel.com) 

 The rally also saw remarks by a Cuban who lives in the US and is “very much opposed to the embargo and efforts to destroy the Cuban people,” said Lowendorf.

  Also speaking was John Lugo, of Unidad Latina en Accion, an immigrant rights group. Speaking in Spanish, Lugo  “related what’s happening in Cuba and what’s happening elsewhere in Latin America from the point of view of immigrants who have to leave their country often because of actions that the United States takes that puts them in a position of either to flee or to die.”

  Another rally supporting Cuba will take place this Thursday at the federal building at 141 Church Street at 4:30 PM.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

City panel violates FOI law, slammed for secrecy

 

BRIDGEPORT REPORT

 

  

  By Reginald Johnson

   BRIDGEPORT ---- A little-known City Hall committee which makes key decisions on multi-million dollar school construction projects is routinely violating the state freedom of information law by failing to post timely minutes of its meetings.

   The School Building Committee, which is now working on the $127 million Bassick High School project, has been weeks and even months late in filing its minutes for regular meetings this year.

  The state Freedom of Information Act stipulates that all public agencies must file their minutes for public inspection within seven days of their meetings.

   The Pequonnock has filed a complaint about the school building committee’s late filings with the state Freedom of Information Commission. That agency enforces the state FOI law, which guarantees that the meetings and records of all local and state agencies be open and accessible to the public.

  Meanwhile, a City Council member is blasting the building committee for a "lack of transparency" and calling for changes in the committee’s power.

  Councilman Jorge Cruz of the South End said not only is the committee failing to provide a record of their meetings by the legal deadline, but presenting minutes which are, in his view, very inadequate.

  “I personally was in two of the building committee meetings and I heard a lot of discussions regarding funding for Bassick High school and the relocation to the University of Bridgeport.  The minutes I have reviewed have left out the details of the discussions and I find it offensive to me and to the residents of Bridgeport Connecticut. The question is WHY?” Cruz asked

  The councilmember went on to say, “I am feeling very uncomfortable with the fact that the building committee has sole independence of approving and allocating large sums of money without any full Council discussions and approval it is time for this Council to revisit the responsibilities of the building committee and make the necessary changes so that the building committee exercises a more transparent approach for the betterment of our integrity.”

Bassick High School. City officials plan to replace this with a new $127 million facility at the University of Bridgeport. The committee planning this project has been violating the state freedom of information law by withholding minutes of its meetings for weeks and months at a time. 

 Unlike the Board of Education, the School Building Committee is not well-known to the public, though the panel makes major decisions about the use of city funds for new schools.

 The committee is a hybrid group, composed of City Council members, Board of Education members, city development officials, and others.

  Trying to find information about the committee from the city’s website, both its meeting schedules and minutes, is not easy. This reporter was told earlier in the year that the committee is under the umbrella of the City Council. But on the city website, the City Council does not include the School Building Committee as one of its committees.

  Only at the bottom of the page covering council committees and their members, is is there a reference to the School Building Committee, under the title “Liaisons to various boards and committees.” There you find three councilmembers, Marcus Brown, Aidee Nieves and Ernest Newton listed as being members of the School Building Committee.

 But under the category  “City Departments, Agencies and Offices”, on the city website, the school building committee is not listed.

  Information about meeting notices and minutes of the group was finally located by scrolling under the subject “City Council” and then “Agendas and Minutes” and finding “School Building Committee,” along with a hodgepodge of other city offices, not listed in alphabetical order.

   Over the past year, the School Building Committee has taken important actions relating to the construction of a new Bassick High School.  Last year, after the Ganim administration abruptly reversed course and decided to build a new high school at the University of Bridgeport and not on a site on State Street, the committee authorized the payment of $6 million of city funds to acquire land for construction.

   The action became controversial when several current and former council members said the committee by itself could not approve the $6 million payment to UB. The transaction had to be approved by the City Council, they said, and since it wasn’t, the expenditure was illegal.

  City Council Member Maria Pereira claimed that the FBI is investigating the legality of the $6 million payment, but federal officials would not confirm this.

  Recently, the School Building Committee approved a proposal to add another $12 million to the Bassick project as well as plans to demolish dormitories at UB to make way for the school.

  In contrast to other public bodies, such as the City Council and the Board of Education, the minutes of the school building committee are spare and provide little detail. There is no recounting of back-and-forth discussions between committee members.

 The minutes of the school committee do record the votes that have taken place and the names of the people attending. As such, the panel is probably meeting the minimal requirements for the contents of minutes set forth in the state FOI law.

   Attempts to reach committee co-chair Aidee Nieves (who is also city Council President) for comment were unsuccessful.