UB property buy violates city charter, leaders say

 

BRIDGEPORT REPORT

 

   By Reginald Johnson

 

  BRIDGEPORT ----- The administration of Mayor Joseph P. Ganim violated the city charter by failing to secure City Council approval for spending $6 million to purchase property from the University of Bridgeport to build the new Bassick High School.

 That’s the view of several current and former City Council members, who commented on the decision of the school building committee last year to pay the University of Bridgeport $6 million in order to acquire a parcel off Broad Street to build the new $115 million facility.

  The officials said that the committee, which is a subcommittee of the City Council composed of both administration officials and Board of Education officials, did not have the authority on its own to spend the money.

  Councilwoman Maria Pereira, D-138, said the charter is clear on this issue.

 “It is land acquisition. If you look at the city charter there is only one entity that could purchase municipal land or sell municipal land and that’s the City Council. I don’t care whether they want to sell a $40,000 a lot, or whatever, it has to go through the City Council that’s the law.” she said.

 Pereira said that originally in 2017 the City Council authorized a $27.5 million bond for construction of a new Bassick and it didn’t include anything for land acquisition, as there was consideration for building a new high school at the existing city-owned site on Fairfield Avenue. She said that later in early 2020 finance officials asked for an additional $5 million for the project, citing increased costs, but nothing was mentioned about land acquisition.

 “We weren’t informed --- it was never brought up,” Pereira said. “And clearly they already knew in February that they were going to pursue purchasing that land (at UB) for $5 million, okay, and they were hiding it. So this is all secretive.”

  Pereira continued, “until they have a press conference on July 6 last year with UB acknowledging that they were going to move Bassick there, I as an elected official had absolutely no idea this was going on. None.”

 Former councilmember and state representative Chris Caruso also said that the City Council should have reviewed the expenditure before it was approved since councilmembers “have budgetary responsibility for all the expenditures of the Corporation, in this case the city.”

  “And a committee of the Council cannot waive that responsibility,” Caruso said.  

 Some councilmembers and other individuals are reportedly in the process of filing a lawsuit to have the purchase reversed and an order be given that the Council review any land acquisition payment before it is made. However, it could not be confirmed that any court filing has actually taken place so far.

 Councilwoman Aidee Nieves, D-137, president of the City Council and also chairman of the school building committee, could not be reached for comment on the Bassick-UB issue.

 The purchase of the property at UB and payment to the university comes at a time when the University of Bridgeport --- which has been in financial trouble in recent years --- is about to be taken over by Goodwin University of East Hartford.

  Goodwin is partnering with Paier College of Hamden to buy UB, pending the granting of all needed accreditations.

The University of Bridgeport

 There has been significant criticism from leaders in the community about the Goodwin merger, with concerns being raised about whether Goodwin is strong enough academically to take over the University of Bridgeport. Officials of the NAACP and minority members on the city Council are also worried that the minority community will not be served by the new university.

  There is also some suspicion about Goodwin’s intentions in buying UB, with leaders such as the Rev. D. Stanley Lord, the president of the Bridgeport NAACP, saying that the upstate college is interested in acquiring valuable waterfront real estate and then profiting from selling properties later on.

 Goodwin officials have vehemently denied that claim and said they are only interested in building a strong academic institution in Bridgeport.

  Goodwin is intending to spend $52 million to acquire UB and is obtaining financing from Citizens Bank. Citizens Bank in turn has agreed to write off $30 million of UB debt.

  The property deed that was filed with the Town Clerk’s office regarding the property transaction for the new high school has raised some eyebrows. The deed in question says that the university was giving the land to the City of Bridgeport for one dollar, not $6 million.

  John Weldon, the chairman of the Bridgeport Board of Education and a member of the school building committee, said he did not know why the deed was written the way it was. “I can’t speak to what the rationale would be for that.  It’s just more like a legalese question. I’m sure there’s a rationale. I just don’t know what it is.” he said.

   Meanwhile, community leaders and city councilmembers are criticizing Mayor Ganim and Robert Berchem, head of the UB Board of Trustees, for being in a conflict over the Bassick situation and UB.

  “I think what we have here is the chair of UB is Bob Berchem with Berchem and Moses law firm. They are the law firm for the Board of Education that Joe Ganim got in there for them and they get millions from the city on an annual basis,” said Pereira. “So he’s chairman of the board of UB, he co-chaired a major fundraiser for Joe Ganim at Brewport when Joe Ganim was running for mayor in 2019 and Joe Ganim is serving as an adjunct professor at UB and serving on their board. So this is rife with conflict, right?”  

  Berchem could not be reached for comment about the Bassick property acquisition by the city and the claims about a conflict of interest.

 Ganim, as well, has not been available for comment.

  Caruso said that if the charter was violated with the Bassick property acquisition,  it isn’t the first time. “Time and time again you’ve seen it.  You saw it with the selection of a police chief, with the mayor just ignoring the charter. You see it with the civil service system and acting positions are created rather than permanent positions, again in violation of the charter.

 “And the list goes on and on,” Caruso said. “As long as this frankly lawlessness exists then you can’t expect too much, you can’t get too upset. Because frankly the people that are responsible to be the loyal opposition, to be that oversight, are MIA, they are missing in action.”

 In other developments at UB, Councilman Jorge Cruz, D-131, was unsuccessful recently in trying to get the Council to approve setting up a task force to study the idea of the city taking over the University of Bridgeport.

 Cruz, who has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the Goodwin merger, proposed a resolution to set up a task force in the council’s education and social services committee “to review and recommend specific strategies to acquire the charter and assets of the University of Bridgeport…”

  However, Cruz withdrew his resolution when the city attorney advised that such a task force would not be appropriate. Other councilmembers also were not receptive to the idea of a public takeover, Cruz said.

 The city attorney did say however that it would be possible to set up an informational session in which there could be a discussion of ways that the city might assist the University of Bridgeport achieve better management.

The South End councilman said he is disappointed that the mayor and other members of the council are not more receptive to the idea of a public takeover, which he thinks would be doable.

“It would be like CUNY,” said Cruz, referring to the publicly owned City University of New York.

 

 

 

 

 

Leaders call out Bassick High School decision

 

 BRIDGEPORT REPORT

 

 

By Reginald Johnson

 

 

   BRIDGEPORT --- Months after city officials quietly decided to locate the new Bassick High School next to the University of Bridgeport, there are rumblings of discontent.

     A group of community leaders are asking why there was a sudden change to move the new high school from a previously discussed open space location on State Street to property at UB, which includes the university soccer field and several dorms.

   Though they don’t have proof, members of the group also think that Mayor Joseph P. Ganim was secretly involved in the decision to move Bassick to the UB site, instead of the parcel on State Street, where the Harvey Hubbell factory once stood.

  If so, they say, Ganim is in a conflict since he sits on the University of Bridgeport board in addition to being the city’s chief executive officer.

 “The Bassick location was going to be on State Street on the old Hubbell factory site but all of a sudden there was a change and they went to UB,” said the Rev. D. Stanley Lord, president of the Greater Bridgeport NAACP.  “They won’t give a real reason … (Hubbell) was the site and two weeks later it was UB.”

  “This whole deal stinks and it stinks of the mayor --- because the mayor sits on the board of UB so it’s all a conflict of interest. The attorneys involved work for the city and have ties with UB. They’re all in a conflict of interest,” said Lord.

 Ganim could not be reached for comment on Lord’s comments or on the Bassick decision-making process.

  Lord and others in the group --- which includes a state senator and some city council members --- say they also want answers on the nature of the transaction where the city paid $6 million for the UB property. The School Building Committee, a subcommittee of the city council,  approved of the payment by the city to UB, but the deed of sale shows that the land was conveyed by UB to the city for one dollar, not $6 million.

  “We paid $6 million for it but the deed says it was gifted for one dollar. How does that happen?” asked Lord.

   When asked why the deed of sale said $1 as opposed to $6 million, John Weldon, chairman of the Board of Education and a member of the School Building Committee, said: “I wasn’t aware of that, no. I can’t speak to what the rationale would be for that, it’s just more like a legalese question. I’m sure there’s a rationale, I just don’t know what it is.”

  Weldon was asked whether the mayor was involved in any of the decision-making on locating the new high school at UB. “I don’t believe so, no,” he answered.

   “My understanding is that OPED  (the city Office of Planning and Economic Development) was really in the trenches doing the legwork, negotiating with the University, doing the surveys, the appraisals and all that stuff. It was strictly a business transaction on the city’s end,” he said.

  Plans call for the new high school to be built on a site on Broad and Lafayette Streets, just off Seaside Park in the South End, at a cost of $115 million. The area now includes the UB soccer field and a number of university dorms. Three of the dorms --- Bodine, North and South Halls would be torn down to make space for the 200,000 square-foot facility.

  

One of the UB dorms that will be demolished to make way for the new Bassick High School

   Prior to last summer’s decision to place the high school at UB, there were years of public discussion about what to do with the currrent Bassick high school on Fairfield Avenue, which was deemed out-of-date and inadequate. Some felt the present building, which has historic qualities, should be rehabilitated and saved. Others thought the building should be torn down and a new facility built there.

  Later the focus turned to possibly building it on the Hubbell site, not far away in the West End. The city began negotiating with the owner on a purchase and that’s where matters stood early last year.

  Then apparently the idea of going to UB came up. The proposal was not publicly aired. The School Building Committee, meeting in closed session, approved the UB plan and site acquisition in July.

  State Sen. Dennis Bradley, D-Bridgeport, who was previously on the Board of Education, sat through many of the discussions on Bassick and said he’s not happy with the city’s decision and the way it was arrived at.

  “We had meetings until 2 and 3 in the morning debating those issues...after community input we come to find out in the ninth hour that the city of Bridgeport building department committee has switched the location to the UB campus, spend whatever, another $7 or $8 million to buy the property, when God knows how much property the city already has the tax rolls that’s owned by the city of Bridgeport that’s just simply been foreclosed on and nobody wants it.” Bradley said.

  “This is the stuff that just blows everybody’s mind away and everyone is saying Bridgeport is a lost cause,” Bradley said. “I mean all these deals behind the scenes throwing away community input and not doing things transparently.”

  The decision to place Bassick at UB came up as the financially-troubled university is about to be taken over by East-Hartford-based Goodwin University. Goodwin is spending about $52 million on the acquisition. Goodwin is obtaining financing from Citizens Bank, which has also agreed to write off $30 million in UB’s debt, according to the Connecticut Post.

 Paier College, an art school now in Hamden, will be part of the new university at UB.

   Rev. Lord, Bradley and city council members like Jorge Cruz have also been voicing concerns about the Goodwin deal, saying it may not be the best option for saving UB.  They doubt that Goodwin ---- known primarily as a two-year college offering associate degrees --- is up to the job of taking over the better-established University of Bridgeport, a four-year institution.

 There’s also suspicion about Goodwin’s intentions in taking over UB. Rev. Lord and Cruz both claim that Goodwin is really interested in acquiring valuable real estate on Long Island Sound, and then turning a profit by selling it for high-priced housing development.

  Cruz, who represents the South End, has said repeatedly that the Goodwin takeover will spur gentrification in the neighborhood and price out many minorities.

   But Mark Scheinberg, the president of Goodwin has strongly rejected those claims. “There is nothing that would ever, ever suggest that what we’re doing down there is a land grab,” he said. “We're such good community members.”

   Scheinberg said the merger is going to be a positive development for both the city and the South End. “This is such a win for Bridgeport, and because it is our mission, a win for us, too,” he said.

   Weldon said that contrary to what was widely believed, there had been no definite decision made to locate Bassick at the Harvey Hubbell site.

   “Actually a decision had not been made with respect to Hubbell. It was still in negotiation and there was a lot of back-and-forth going on at that time. While that was going on, the opportunity arose to take a look at the easternmost part of the UB campus in the Broad Street area and the city evaluated it,” he said.

A big factor in city officials deciding to go with the UB location was that the State Street site was contaminated and would need cleanup. With the purchase price for the two properties about the same, and considering the beauty of the UB parcel near Seaside Park, the decision about where to locate the high school became a “no-brainer,” said Weldon.

  The school board chairman said flooding concerns in the area are going to be resolved by the federal “Resilient Bridgeport” project so flooding will not be a problem with the new facility.

   There were no community meetings to discuss the Bassick-UB project before the decision to buy the university land was made. Also, the City Council was not asked to review or approve the $6 million land purchase, said Cruz.

  The Board of Education was briefed on the plan to locate at UB in executive session, said Weldon. The board approved the plan unanimously, he said.

  “I’ve been trying to put together kind of a public meeting to let the neighborhood and let the Bassick student body see what’s going on,” said Weldon.  “That’s been difficult for obvious reasons. But I’m hopeful that in the very near future with social distancing being relaxed we’ll be able to gather people in an auditorium, show some slides, show this is the overall site, this is where the building is going, you know, the whole thing.”

  

    

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Syria coverup: lying about chemical attacks

 

   

By Reginald Johnson

 

  For years, the United States government has been trying to overthrow the regime of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad --- claiming that Assad is a brutal human rights violator who uses chemical weapons against his own people.

   The US claims Assad has done this on a number of occasions, the most recent being April 2018 when the Syrian military allegedly poisoned people in the city of Douma with a gas attack, leaving 40-50 people dead.

  That purported attack was used to justify a missile strike on Syrian government sites ordered by former President Trump. Six people were killed in the bombing.

  Now however, the truth is beginning to emerge that the 2018 chemical attack in Douma was a lie.

   Several former investigators and a former top official with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have come out and stated that a finding by the OPCW in 2019 which confirmed the chemical attack, was invalid.

  The former inspectors further stated that an interim report they authored determined that no such chemical attack had occurred, but that report was scuttled and the information and in it never made public. Key scientific findings were censored and the inspectors were removed from the probe.

 Documents which have been leaked to Wikileaks and to the Grayzone investigative news website, confirm what the whistleblowers stated, according to Aaron Mate, a writer with the Grayzone.

  “They show in great detail what was happening here and what a cover-up this was,” Mate said on the Tucker Carlson show on Fox TV March 12.

  Mate said there is a push on now to set the record straight. The former OPCW officials have demanded that the organization hold an open forum to discuss all the findings and determine the truth. So far however, OPCW management has refused to do that and in fact has publicly condemned the whistleblowers.

   Now, a group of distinguished authors, academics, antiwar activists and a former US presidential candidate have joined with the whistleblowers and a former top OPCW official to issue a “Statement of Concern” calling out the organization’s actions. Those signing the statement include Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg, author John Pilger, Ret. Col. Lawrence Wilkerson and former presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard.

  In the statement posted on the website for the Courage Foundation, which represents whistleblowers, the group criticized the OPCW management and demanded a transparent and open investigation of the April 2018 attack.

  “The issue at hand threatens to severely damage the reputation and credibility of the OPCW and undermine its vital role in the pursuit of peace and security,” the statement read. “It is simply not tenable for a scientific organization like the OPCW to refuse to respond openly to the criticisms and concerns of its own scientists whilst being associated with attempts to discredit and smear those scientists.”

   The statement on, “We believe that the interests of the OPCW are best served by the director general providing a transparent and neutral forum in which the concerns of all the investigators can be heard as well as ensuring that a fully objective and scientific investigation is completed.” 

 The United States has been militarily intervening in Syria over the past decade, first supplying arms to anti-Assad rebels and then introducing hundreds of American troops. During the intervention more than 400,000 Syrians have lost their lives.

   Trump is not the last president to order a military strike against Syria. In February, President Biden ordered airstrikes on Syrian targets, killing 22 people. The administration said the airstrikes were made in retaliation for rocket attacks launched by Iranian-backed militias in Syria against US targets in Iraq.

  Mate said it is critical that the lie about the supposed chemical attack in Douma be exposed.

  “These lies can lead to war.  We know the consequences in Iraq of going to war with Iraq based on lies.” Mate said during his appearance on FOX.

  He added, “Even now today these allegations of chemical attacks in Syria are being used to justify the ongoing military occupation there and the sanctions that are destroying Syria, preventing the import of food and medicine, destroying Syria’s economy and preventing it from rebuilding. That is not good for Syrians and that is not good for Americans. It’s only good for warmongers in Washington.”

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

Community leaders fight UB merger

 

BRIDGEPORT REPORT

                          

   By Reginald Johnson 

 

   BRIDGEPORT ---- A group of local activists and elected officials are trying to head off  the takeover of the University of Bridgeport by Goodwin University, saying the merger may not be in the best interest of the city or the minority community.

    The group, which includes the president of the Greater Bridgeport NAACP, a state senator and members of the city council, are complaining that community leaders like themselves have been kept out of the deliberations for arranging the merger, and the process has not been transparent.

  The group also questions whether Goodwin, a smaller college than UB which specializes in technical-career-oriented courses aimed at landing people jobs quickly, is not up to the task of running UB, a larger and more established university.

   There’s also fear that tuition rates at the new college may be too expensive for  lower-income minority students to enroll.

   The critics also voice suspicions that Goodwin, based in East Hartford, is not really interested in acquiring UB for academic reasons, but instead wants to buy up valuable waterfront property on Long Island Sound and then sell it off for high-priced housing development.

  The group has talked about various ways of stalling the Goodwin deal --- including legal action to block the merger, trying to get state leaders to consider the possibility of making UB part of the state’s public university system, or using finances from wealthy alumni to pay off UB’s debts and keep the university independent.

  But no definite course of action has been settled upon.

  The president of Goodwin University, Mark Scheinberg, has pushed back hard against the criticism and said the merger is going to be a positive development for both the city and the South End, where UB is located.

  “This is such a win for Bridgeport, and because it is our mission, a win for us, too,” he said.

   The plan for Goodwin to take over UB is far along, with a closing on the purchase of the university property expected within a matter of weeks, said Scheinberg. Once all accreditations are gained, Scheinberg said, the merger would be completed by July. UB would then become a nonprofit institution owned by Goodwin. Paier College, an art school in Hamden, would also be part of the new university.

   The move towards a takeover of the University of Bridgeport began last year, after several years of worsening financial conditions at the 94-year-old college. Scheinberg said he was contacted in June by city leaders, including Mayor Joseph Ganim and members of the higher education community, to see what Goodwin might be able to do to help.

   Then began a period of several weeks of work to hammer out a deal to essentially save UB through a merger. Initially a proposal was devised to have Goodwin, Paier and Sacred Heart University jointly merge with the University of Bridgeport. Later, however SHU officials dropped out of the deal, saying they were concerned about enrollment projections.

  By the fall, several members of the city council and others were expressing concern that the negotiations for finalizing a new arrangement for UB were being done behind closed doors and without adequate input from the council or the minority community.

   Councilman Jorge Cruz, who represents the South End, charged that officials from UB and Goodwin and the mayor were negotiating secretly on a matter that is critically important to the community, without getting any community or council input.

  “They’ve shown us total disrespect,” said Cruz.

The Rev. D. Stanley Lord, president of the Greater Bridgeport NAACP, said minority involvement in the process was not being taken seriously enough.

  “If they were really concerned about Bridgeport as a whole, they would’ve had a community conversation,” he said. “We don’t want somebody coming in here and just say ‘we’re going to do what we want with you,’ without talking with us.”

   State Sen. Dennis Bradley, D-Bridgeport, the spokesman for the group, (which doesn’t have a name), said  “So the issue is, there’s a lot happening behind the doors, behind the scenes and I think that’s not good … I think for something to be done right, whether it’s a private business or public business, specifically if it’s public, it should be done openly and transparently when it affects such a large entity like ourselves.”

   Scheinberg acknowledged that in the early stages, there wasn’t much outreach to anyone outside of the people directly involved in planning a merger. But he maintained that now, lines of communication are much better.

  “We were contacted in June by city government and members of our association to see if there was some way we could step in to help an ailing University of Bridgeport so we had about three weeks to put together a basic shell of a deal and other than my attorney, I didn’t talk with anybody and that’s a screening fact process and it takes years to do this stuff,” he said.

 “So when we did the initial announcement the only person I had talked to in the government in Bridgeport was actually the mayor to make sure I wasn’t mis- stepping and so you do the proper thing --- you check into the local government administration supporting this, so that’s what I did,” Scheinberg said.

  “After that day it was apparent to us that there were some people in the community that didn’t feel as though we were well enough in touch with them before the announcement took place. We took that the heart,” he said.

  At that point, Scheinberg said, he began calling Councilman Cruz “every couple of weeks whenever anything new was happening, I made sure to give him a call.”      

   Goodwin officials also met with the entire Bridgeport state delegation to give them input. They’ve also met with different church leaders, with local and private schools and with a council committee.

  “So there’s nothing that we’re trying to hide,” Scheinberg says, “it was simply a situation where things happen so quickly we hadn’t dug deeper into every layer of the government down there…Nothing is being held back, it’s just we didn’t have time to get to as many people as we would’ve liked.”

  Critics in the community are also worried about whether Goodwin will have a positive effect on the minority community. Bridgeport is a majority minority city and the South End’s population is heavily Black and Latino.

Bradley, an attorney in Bridgeport, said key issues for the group include minority involvement in the university, linking the university with the minority community and making the tuition structure accessible for minorities.

 “Universities have been priced out for a lot of students and I don’t personally believe that the university should be only available to the sons and daughters of the rich or that people in my situation should be burdened with astronomical levels of debt,” he said.

  Bradley added, “the University of Bridgeport for better or worse has always been an institution or one of the few institutions that allows for first-time college kids to come in and pay reasonable rates to get a degree and offer up robust programs of a four-year institution. So yeah, we want to make sure that continues.”

  In response to the issue about tuition, Scheinberg first noted that the University of Bridgeport historically has offered a lot of programs with the city and city residents to provide a substantial amount of institutional financial aid to those students to make sure they could start and finish at UB.

  “They have been very generous to the Bridgeport community. And the question is what will Goodwin do. Goodwin is about the lowest price private college in Connecticut and one of the lowest in the region. We have not raised our tuition in years, our students are very heavily supported by lots of institutional aid as well as other aid; we are a main trainer for SNAP recipients; we are main trainer for Department of Children and Families. Our contracts are hugely supportive of lower income people,” he said.

  On tuition levels, the Goodwin official said, “We will do our best. For any private college you have to do the best you can when you’re in a situation where you don’t get any state support.”  

 Unlike the state community college system or the state university system, Goodwin doesn’t get “tens of thousands of dollars for every student they serve,” he said. “For us we don’t have that and we are still trying to make our programs accessible to local residents.”

   On the issue of involvement by the university in the community, members of the critics' group, including Cruz and Bradley, say they want to make sure that Goodwin continues with the kinds of helpful programs UB has in the schools and in the community, such as providing interns for nonprofits, running computer camps and a health clinic.

Scheinberg said, “I don’t know if they get credit for the many things they (UB) already do and that’s just the beginning. For us, when we get there we will run many programs in addition to that in support of the community.”

 Another concern that has been raised by the community group is whether or not Goodwin has a high enough academic caliber to be taking over the much older and more established University of Bridgeport.

  “I think it should be pretty obvious that I don’t know what will qualify Goodwin college operating a four-year institution and I don’t see what’s in their repertoire or in their assets that it’s a model that I find to be a model of one of higher learning,” said Bradley.

  Rev. Lord also voiced concern about Goodwin’s academic credentials and taking over UB.

   “The University of Bridgeport is known to have one of the best engineering schools in the nation,” he said. “Given Goodwin’s repertoire, Goodwin does not cover that area academically. So what are they going to do with that component?”

  Scheinberg said later that Goodwin will retain the Engineering School.

   Goodwin, begun in 1999, has 3317 students and an endowment of about $9 million. Some 1,027 degrees, both associate and bachelor’s degrees, were conferred in 2019-20.

  The University of Bridgeport has 3152 undergraduate students and 2282 post graduates. UB’s endowment is about $34 million.

  The Goodwin website advertises the East Hartford college as a “Career Focused University in CT.”

   The curriculum emphasizes training in a number of technical oriented fields, many not requiring a four-year instruction and with almost no liberal arts courses.

  Bachelor Degree programs include APRN, advanced manufacturing, business administration, childhood study and others.

  There are several master’s programs, including APRN, public health, and education.

 Two-year associate degree programs are offered in nursing, dental hygiene,  manufacturing, funeral service, criminal justice, early childhood education, health science, CNC Machining and other fields.

 Certificates are offered in medical billing, welding and other areas.

 Scheinberg said that a key mission of the college is to get people into paying jobs.

 “At the end of a degree program here, one should expect that as part of our mission people are able to gain a living wage… As a general rule if any of our programs don’t have a 80% placement rate within 90 days they are put on a watchlist because our job is not to create education for its own sake. We don’t have a philosophy major. We don’t have a lot of majors which would be nice in a liberal arts setting but we want to make sure that our graduates can expect to be working when they finish,” he said.

 Scheinberg added, “So we make no bones about it. That’s not to say we don’t have lots of liberal arts or general education courses but in addition to that we want to make sure that they have enough of an emphasis that they are able to come out and get a job, too.”

   The most controversial charge made by critics of the Goodwin takeover has been the claim that real estate development may be a key motivation behind the acquisition.

  Cruz is outspoken on this issue.

  “Their interest here is the land --- it’s prime land. You got the university and the beach there, you got Seaside Park there and that’s prime land and I’m concerned they’re going to gentrify the place. Gentrification is going to spread and the next thing you know the minority population is going to be powerless. We have to stand up to these people,” he said.

  Others, such as Rev. Lord of the NAACP and Councilman Alfredo Castillo echoed Cruz’s concern about a possible “land grab.”

  Scheinberg is clearly upset by the allegation.

 “I’m sort of slack-jawed actually. So on what basis is that assertion being made?” he asked. “That question came up at the city council meeting as well and I was astounded by the question because I never even thought of that is being an option… There is nothing in what we do that would ever, ever suggest that what we’re doing is a land grab down there…What I’ve heard is astounding to me. We’re such good community members.”

 Scheinberg went on, “We’re not asking anybody for money. We’re not asking anybody for a handout. We’re spending about $50 million --- $50 million! This is the kind of thing that is so rare that I don’t expect to be canonized, but you know, for Pete’s sake, people should be appreciative before they start assuming we’re doing anything nefarious.”

   On the issue of financing, the Connecticut Post reports that Goodwin has an agreement with Citizens Bank whereby the bank is writing off $30 million of UB’s $60 million debt. The Post said Goodwin has a letter of intent to take on UB’s remaining $32.5 million in debt, plus invest another $20 million in the venture.

    But the community group is trying to find other options to keep Goodwin from taking over.

   Without giving many details, Cruz said there has been some contact with two wealthy alumni who are willing to put up the financing to absorb all of UB’s debt and keep the university independent.

  “They are alumni and they don’t like what they heard was being discussed and they called to help. They don’t want to see this institution go to somebody outside of Bridgeport and they want to maintain it as an institution to benefit the minority community,” Cruz said.

Bradley and Lord have expressed the desire to get the state to take over UB and put it into the state university system.

   “My view is that the government step in and specifically the governor’s office step in and make UB part of what is a thriving state system of higher education,” said Bradley. “I think that would be the ideal model. I think UConn and the rest of the state schools have a high degree of prestige and a good reputation.”

   

         

       

  

 

 

  

     

    

Biden: The right message

  By Reginald Johnson  

I really liked what Joe Biden said at his Inaugural about bringing people together and uniting the country. He promised he would represent all people, not just those who voted for him. His remarks were just what Americans needed to hear at a time when the nation is so divided.

  Here’s part of what he said: “We can see each other not as adversaries, but as neighbors. We can treat each other with dignity and respect. We can join forces, stop the shouting and lower the temperature. For without unity, there is no peace — only bitterness and fury. No progress — only exhausting outrage. No nation — only a state of chaos.”

  Very good. Now he needs to persuade members of the Democratic Party and their many supporters in the media to join in this effort. He needs to get people on the left to stop the namecalling and vitriol directed at Trump supporters. Stop the demonization and campaigns of blacklisting and censorship.

  This is a tall order. But I think Biden --- who comes from a blue-collar background and has years of experience in the political world where he learned to work with the opposition --- is capable of changing the tenor of the country. I will certainly support him as he tries to bring about a more united nation. 

 And it goes without saying that conservatives, from FOX News or wherever, have to step back and listen to what Biden has to say. Don’t jump on him from Day One, nitpicking over every move. Give him a chance, he might do something right.

 

 

Less rancor, more dialogue

 

By Reginald Johnson

For the new year I’m wishing for a more peaceful, less acrimonious America.

This country has been riven with division the last few years, and it’s really no good.

There’s been constant name-calling, with individuals and sometimes whole groups being smeared with the worst kind of labels. Terms like “fascist,” “racist,” “traitor,” “Russian agent,” “China stooge,” and “criminal” have been thrown around like candy.

 In some cases, these descriptions have been accurate. But many other times, they haven’t been, and reputations have been damaged, if not ruined.

 The constant back and forth and villification has not only poisoned the public discourse but made it much harder to get anything done with public policy.  

  It’s tempting to say it’s all Donald Trump’s fault.  Unquestionably, the man is a boor.  His personal attacks on people have often been hurtful and deeply offensive. But as the saying goes, ‘It takes two to tango.’ If Donald Trump jumped in the gutter, the left jumped in with him.

  Language coming from the left has often been rancorous and over the top. This is a departure from the left I knew years ago, when the right-wing seemed to have a corner on name-calling and ad hominem attacks. Not anymore.

 Michelle Obama a few years ago had a great line when she said: “When they go low, we go high.”

  Unfortunately, that suggestion hasn’t been followed. It’s time we follow it.

 I also heard some good words of advice from Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, who was commenting on healing the nation’s divisions during the riots last summer. He said people have to stop talking at each other and start talking with each other.

  “We have to listen,” he said.

Let’s bring the temperature down, stop shouting, stop accusing and listen a little bit to the other side.

 

 

Biden the best choice

 

   ELECTION VIEWPOINT

By Reginald Johnson

 

 I have to admit that I have my problems with the Democrats and Joe Biden.

 I don’t like the fact that the party has been weak in opposing future wars and reducing the military budget. In fact, many Democrats have been vigorous supporters of huge military budgets, which siphon away vital resources from domestic needs.

 I also don’t like the fact that party leaders embraced the phony “Russia-gate” narrative, which held incorrectly that  President Trump was some kind of Russian agent. All the talk about Russia collusion served to undermine the potential for a more peaceful relationship between the US and Russia. 

 Additionally, I’m not happy that the party failed to condemn the violence that engulfed American cities this past summer, violence which was provoked in considerable part by left-wing groups.

 Finally, I’m troubled by the recent allegations of possible corruption and ethical wrongdoing by Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. These certainly need investigation.

   Having said all that, I’m casting my vote for Joe Biden over Donald Trump in tomorrow’s presidential election. The choice is very clear --- based on a number of critical issues.

 First and foremost is climate change. This is clearly an existential threat and we have to marshal all our resources to fight it. That means the United States must get back into the Paris Climate Accords and the nation must change our energy use ---- moving to renewable sources and getting away from fossil fuels. That means implementing the Green New Deal. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for vice president, support going back to the Paris Accords and moving to green energy conversion, even if Biden has equivocated recently on the issue of fracking. They’re headed in the right direction.

 By contrast, Trump has rejected the Paris Accords and wholeheartedly supports the continuation of fossil fuel use. This kind of position is simply unacceptable, given the gravity of global warming and its consequences, which include ever worsening forest fires, deadly heat waves and ever more violent hurricanes.

  Second is health issues. President Trump has badly fumbled management of the Covid-19 pandemic and has consistently sent the wrong signal to the American people about how serious this crisis is. He has pooh-poohed the Covid threat and that has probably cost many lives. Biden would clearly set a better tone on handling this crisis and move to set up a comprehensive testing program. He would likely push Congress more vigorously to come up with a badly needed stimulus package to help the American people, and not just corporations.

  Relatedly, Biden and Harris would shore up and likely improve the Affordable Care Act program. “Obama-care” as it is known, clearly has deficiencies, but it is certainly better than what the nation had before, which was nothing. Trump has proposed to eliminate “Obama-care” altogether and come up with what he says will be a new and better plan. But he has offered no details on exactly what this would be. This situation again is unacceptable. While the ultimate goal should be for the nation to move to Medicare-for-all, retaining Obama-care for now is clearly the best option over doing nothing.

     Finally, I think Biden would try to heal some of the divisions that now the beset our country and be much better on the issue of race. Trump has all too often stoked racial divisions and been divisive with his rhetoric. Biden is not perfect either on the issue of race, but he’ll be a lot better than Trump.

   One important point to remember is that while Biden is not the most progressive person in the world, he will likely be pushed towards more progressive policies by people who will likely have serious power in Congress, including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez.

 So, Biden-Harris is my choice tomorrow.

 And with that, I’m taking a break from writing for a while. 

 It’s off to the park to take a few fall walks and head back to the garden to harvest some late broccoli.

  Happy voting!