Week in Brief

PATRICK MCGARVEY/YH POLITICAL ACTION: Ward One Alder Julio Gonzalez, CC '99, (second from right) discussed the Aldermanic board on Tues., Mar. 30, telling students how to get involved in New Haven politics.

Since Brodhead was appointed dean in 1993, he has been living in Hamden. When then-University President Howard Lamar appointed Brodhead, he told him, "A house comes with the job, but as you know there is no such house." At that time the dean's house on Hillhouse Avenue had recently been made part of the Yale School of Management (SOM).

Brodhead thinks the move will strengthen his connection with students. "The move is a good thing," he said. "I get so involved in so many activities and interested in things students do. The new house will shorten the distance between me and them. It will let me go out and about on a moment's notice."

--Liz Oliner

State offers $50,000 reward in Jovin case
Connecticut Governor John Rowland's recent offer of a $50,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in the investigation of the Fri., Dec. 4 murder of Suzanne Jovin has renewed discussion of the case nearly four months after Jovin's tragic death.

Although the University has been in contact with both the Jovin family and the New Haven police, neither the University nor the Jovins was directly involved in the issue of the reward. "The University made it clear in the weeks following the death of Suzanne Jovin that if the police thought a reward would be useful we would support that," University Secretary Linda Lorimer, LAW '77, said. To my knowledge, the Jovin family was not involved in pushing for a reward, although they were aware that the police was going to ask the governor."

According to the New Haven Register, Police Chief Melvin Wearing wrote a request to the governor last week. "Although we are continuing our investigation, at this point we have exhausted all avenues and are seeking assistance from the general public," he wrote.

The letter was the New Haven Police Department's first admission that they have not been making any more progress in the case. "Some cases are just more difficult than others," Wearing told the Register. The police continue to work in conjunction with forensics expert Henry Lee and the FBI to create a psychological profile of the killer.

--Melissa Barton

Competing malls face off in ad wars
New England Development (NED), the developer of the Long Wharf Mall, and West-erfield of America, Inc., the developer of the Connecticut Post Mall, have launched ad campaigns to debate the Long Wharf Mall's construction.

The city-supported NED campaign focuses on how the mall will help the city and create more jobs. But according to Ronald Cohen, Westerfield's lawyer, "There will be no substantial increase in the number of jobs or sales in New Haven. There's $100 million of public money going into a private retail development. The city's ad campaign
is designed to distract people from the
issues at hand."

Westerfield has started a counter-campaign that highlights the traffic nightmares, environmental concerns, and losses to existing retailers that the new mall will create.

"Westerfield is trying to maintain its dominance over retail in the region and narrow the campaign," said Mike Kucz-kowski, spokesperson for Mayor De-Stefano's office.

--Marissa Leung

Coalition opposes Patriot Stadium
More hurdles have been thrown in the way of Connecticut Governor John Rowland's plan to bring the NFL's New England Patriots to Hartford.

On Tues., Mar. 23, a coalition of public interest groups filed a lawsuit to halt
the stadium's construction. Members of
the groups include Stop the Stadium,
the Connecticut Public Interest Re-
search Group, and the Connecticut Citizen
Action Group.

"We argue that the stadium bill violated a provision of Connecticut's constitution that forbids special privileges to private parties," Frank Cochren, the lawyer leading the lawsuit, said. "We're not claiming that it's illegal to construct the stadium. We object to the methods." The coalition also argues that the special legislative session Rowland called to debate the bill on Wed., Mar. 10 was unconstitutional, since there was no emergency.

--Zoe Konovaolov

New Haven leaders discuss Q-bridge project
Connecticut's South Central Regional Council of Governments (COG) will meet with State Transport Commissioner James Sullivan on Mon., Apr. 5, to discuss how the widening of I-95 and construction on the Quinnipiac bridge will affect the region's traffic flow.

This meeting came as a result of COG leaders' decision on Wed., Mar. 24 to postpone approval of the Q-bridge proposal until they got answers from Connecticut's Department of Transportation (DOT) about plans to improve the mass-transit system along with I-95. Members of the COG, including New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., believe that mass transit improvements are necessary to prevent traffic jams during the construction.

"We'll be pushing hard to get as much as possible of the improvement to the mass transit system done before highway construction begins," Dick Martinez, the DOT's Policy and Planning Bureau Chief, said.

--Sue Tuddenham

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