HAMDEN – Quinnipiac University is a great college to work for, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Quinnipiac was one of the 85 colleges that were acknowledged for this achievement.
Quinnipiac earned top honors in categories such as collaborative governance, compensation and benefits, confidence in senior leadership, job satisfaction, respect and appreciation, supervisor-department chair relationship, teaching environment, and tenure clarity and process.
This is the first time Quinnipiac has been recognized in the Collaborative Governance and Confidence in Senior Leadership areas.
HAMDEN – Roberto Casillas was on his way to playing professional soccer in Mexico before a serious injury changed everything.
Casillas would train hard every day, skipping the parties with his friends to focus on his soccer career. A broken patellar tendon would sideline Casillas for two years, and cut his soccer career short. Since then, he’s come to Quinnipiac to pursue a career in becoming a soccer journalist.
“I want to be a soccer journalist or be in sports media covering soccer,” Casillas said. “That’s a part of sports media in the US that is not as competitive, as say, Mexico would be.”
This is only the beginning for Roberto, and he’s excited for what lies ahead.
“Who knows where life’s gonna take me,” Casillas said.
HAMDEN – The owner of Ray and Mike’s deli, one of the most popular spots for Quinnipiac students and Hamden residents, was sentenced to prison on Tuesday for tax evasion.
Raymond George, 53, was sentenced to nine months in prison, which will be followed by a year of supervised release after his prison sentence concludes. He was also ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.
George pleaded guilty to one charge of tax evasion back in May after failing to deposit all cash receipts into his bank account in 2012 and 2013. He used some of the money to fill the ATM machine located inside the store.
George will be ordered to begin his prison sentence on March 17, 2020.
HAMDEN – Quinnipiac is finding ways to urge students to quit vaping. The university understands that quitting vaping, which includes nicotine and THC, can be hard, so they’re looking for ways to make things easier for students to do just that. The first step? Having students throw out their devices.
On Wednesday, September 18, Quinnipiac Health and Wellness hosted an event where students can visit the Carl Hansen Student Center to exchange their devices for something from the book store. These items included water bottles, hats, and lanyards.
One Quinnipiac student believes it was smart for Quinnipiac to allow students to hand in their vapes with no questions asked.
“There’s a huge epidemic of people juuling these days, whether it’s college or high school as well,” Jordan Amstey said. “Both my parents are English teachers, actually, so they get it all the time in their classroom.
Kevin Parker from the Health and Wellness Department believes this event is a step in the right direction for students who are addicted to vaping.
“We generally just want to capitalize on the momentum of the things that are happening nationally,” Parker said. “Especially when it’s related to some sort of wellness issue that we can help tackle here for students.”
All the Juuls and vapes will be recycled and used for an art piece that Parker can display to students when the university holds future events. He’s hoping this will continue to inspire students to turn in their vapes.
U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill sentenced Ray George to prison for tax evasion on Tuesday.
George, who has owned and operated Ray & Mike’s Deli for nearly 22 years, was sentenced to nine months in prison, one year of supervised release and fined $5,000, according to a press release.
In the 2012 and 2013 tax years, George underreported his income, failed to pay over $200,000 in taxes and used the Ray & Mike’s business account for personal expenses. He pleaded guilty to the charges in May.
George has paid the IRS approximately $480,000 and is scheduled to report to prison on March 17, 2020.
Letters from employees and friends, addressed to Chief Judge Underhill, paint a different picture of George.
One employee, who has been working at Ray & Mike’s for 19 years, wrote about George sponsoring events and teams in the Hamden community.
“For the past five years, Ray has been a sponsor and done Survivor Lunch for the Relay for Life in Hamden,” she wrote. “[Ray & Mike’s does] a softball game fundraiser every October for breast cancer, and Ray donates all the food and drinks.”
Carl Sargolini, former president of Hamden Youth Hockey and current vice president of the Hamden Fathers Baseball/Softball Association, has known George for over 15 years, according to his letter.
Ray & Mike’s Dairy and Deli, located at 3030 Whitney Ave.
“Anytime either organization has needed support, all we had to do was ask Ray and he provided it,” he wrote.
But George’s impact on the community applies to more than sports. He creates jobs for many young adults that are looking to find their passion. Christopher Ford, who has known the George family since Ray & Mike’s opened, wrote:
“[Ray & Mike’s] has always been a place where Ray gave young adults a place to work and grow while they take the time to figure out what it is in life that they want to do,” Ford said.
Jason Silvestri, who has worked for at the deli since 2007, wrote about Geroge’s character.
“Now, 12 years later I am employed at Yale New Haven Hospital,” Silvestri wrote. “However, I am still working at Ray and Mike’s Deli for the sole reason that Ray is a great guy and is always there for his community and employees.”
In its sentencing memorandum, the government asked Chief Judge Stefan R. Underhill to impose a period of incarceration on Ray George, who pleaded guilty to tax evasion in May.
George is facing between 12 and 18 months in prison, a fine between $5,000 and $55,000 and up to three years of supervised release, according to the memorandum.
The government’s request is that George receives a period of incarceration of up to 15 months. Additionally, the government is asking that George pays full restitution for the taxes he failed to report in addition to a period of supervised release after prison.
“George’s crime was certainly not a crime borne of necessity,” the prosecutors wrote in the government sentencing memorandum.
George, 53, pleaded guilty to tax evasion in May. The deli owner could be facing over a year in prison after failing to report $638,170 in earnings.
The government pointed out in the memorandum that the Ray & Mike’s owner is a multi-millionaire with an investment portfolio worth over $3 million. George’s real-estate and rental holdings are worth over $1.7 million. Ray & Mike’s Deli was also valued at over $500,000, according to the memorandum.
The memorandum also states that George’s net worth is $4.3 million. The government uses all of these figures to demonstrate how George’s “scheme” was deliberate and not borne of the need for cash.
The government argues in the memorandum, that a prison sentence for George would not cause Ray & Mike’s to close. The prosecutors suggest that George could make arrangements to keep the deli open.
These suggestions include hiring new employees to act as managers or promoting a current employee to act as a manager. Either of these options, according to the government, could be paid for by George’s $240,000 salary.
The government uses the extended duration of George’s offense as grounds for incarceration.
“[George’s] crime was not one of limited duration,” the memorandum states.
During the 2012 and 2013 tax years, George failed to report $638,170, according to the memorandum, which resulted in a tax loss of $220,663.
“If tax evaders were to face no real incarceration, then criminal tax fraud would amount to basically a loan from the Government,” the prosecutors wrote.
George is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 17. Stay with HQ Press for updates on George’s sentence.
George, 53, pleaded guilty to tax evasion in May. In 2012 George underreported his income by over $365,000 and in 2013, he underreported by nearly $275,000, according to a press release from the U.S. District Attorney’s Office. George also failed to pay approximately $220,000 in taxes.
The Federal Sentencing Guidelines suggest a sentence of 12 to 18 months for George’s offense. The Guidelines also suggest a fine between $3,000 and $30,000 and up to three years of supervised release. The Guidelines also states that, in 2018 “roughly half of all tax evaders were sentenced to probation without imprisonment.”
George is scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday. The 53-year-old deli owner pleaded guilty to tax evasion in May.
In his sentencing memorandum, George’s attorney proposes a sentence less than the guidelines suggest. In fact, George’s attorney requests no sentence and no further fines, and gives multiple reasons explaining the request.
George paid the penalty for his offense, along with interest, which totaled to over $479,000, according to the defendant’s sentencing memorandum. Therefore, the attorney reasons, an additional fine is unnecessary.
Since George is a first time offender, his attorney argued that the likelihood for re-offense is low and that George is not a danger to his community. Not only did he accept responsibility for his actions by pleading guilty, he has also been cooperative with the IRS throughout the case, according to the defendant’s sentencing memorandum.
The last reason George’s attorney requests no prison sentence is because of the effect it would have on his employees. George has owned and operated the deli for almost 22 years. His employees would experience “severe financial hardship” if George was to be imprisoned, according to the memorandum.
It’s that time of year! If you are a Hamden resident and a registered Democrat and you want to make an impact on your community, come out to one of the nine different voting stations on Tuesday, Sep. 10, to cast your vote for the Democratic candidate for mayor. While bringing identification is not required, it is strongly encouraged.
Click HERE for information about your specific district.
The two democratic mayoral debates on Wednesday Sept. 4 and Friday Sept. 6, had many different topics of discussion ranging from town budgets to taxes, but a major concern with both candidates had to do with Quinnipiac students living in residential neighborhoods around Hamden.
By Kim Kerremans
During the debate Friday morning Mayor Curt B. Leng and challenger Councilwoman Lauren Garrett discussed Quinnipiac students living throughout Hamden. Leng stated that the police had to hand out a number of citations to Quinnipiac students the first weekend back to school, for being disruptive to their neighbors.
Leng said, “we have a problem in the neighborhoods where bad behavior is occurring in certain student housing locations and it’s a real issue for neighbors because if you buy a house and expect to enjoy a quiet neighborhood.”
This is not the case for all students, the majority of student housing is not a problem for the neighbors. Leng said, “I’m really thrilled that the Quinnipiac University’s new leadership, President Judy Olian, her staff and their security forces have really been working hand in hand with is and the police department engaging finally their student life into the mix.”
Garret joined the discussion with, “Our police officers need to make sure that they are keeping an eye on underaged drinking. I’m not hearing about any complaints on the underaged drinking.”
Leng responded, “I agree with the underaged drinking aspect, that’s a real concern. One of the things that’s happening on a positive end with that is when you get an officer that gets to a large party and breaks it up, the town and the university have a much better line of communication to now send buses when appropriate, to ensure that people are drinking aren’t getting into cars.”
The primary election is Tuesday, Sept. 10, the winner of the primary will be pinned up against Republican nominee Jay Kaye on Nov. 5.
Councilwoman Lauren Garrett is a longtime Hamden resident who is in the running to become Hamden’s next democratic Mayor. The primary is on Tuesday Sept. 10 to determine who will be running against endorsed republican Jay Kaye in the general election.
Councilwoman Lauren Garrett
Q: What was it that made you want to run?
LG: We have a lot of financial problems in Hamden and an economy that hasn’t really been growing at all for decades. And I sit on the council and see a lot of continuations of those bad financial decisions and as an engineer I can’t sit there and watch it happen. I’ve got to fix it. I decided to just get into it and try to fix this town so that we can move forward and build an economy that supports Hamden.
Q: When you talk about those bad financial decisions, what are you talking about?
LG: A couple of years ago, Hamden took out bonds, borrowed money, to supplement the pension plan. They borrowed 125 million dollars. To sink into the pension fund and in doing so, they were required to invest in the pension fund with required payments. They’ve been kicking the can down the road on those payments and it’s putting us in a worse position for the pension plan. Any time that you don’t make a payment, it’s going to cost you more later because you don’t see growth in your pension plan that’s invested in the stock market and in other bonds. It’s a safe investment but if you’re not putting more money into it, you’re not seeing that growth. So now we’re actually in a position where we’re actually paying out more than we are putting into our pension because of the payments we have to make to retirees.
In regards to our infrastructure, our budgets are being balanced by not doing infrastructure projects, closing those projects and then using that money to supplement our budget at the end of the year.
Our debt is not being paid off as it should be. So, last year in the budgeting process there was a debt restructure that was done and instead of paying our regular debt payment they restructured over $40 million worth of debt for an interest only payment. So that payment is going up and we incurred more debt just by doing that debt restructure.
So we are adding to our debt. We are deferring infrastructure. And our pension is growing and its liabilities.
Garrett and the current mayor, Curt Leng discussed financial decisions during the first of two debates.
Q: So what is your plan to deal with that if you were to win?
LG: We need to make sure that we are funding our budget appropriately because right now we are in a situation where our fund balance, it’s like what your rainy day fund is, is at .61% of our operating budget. It should be between 6 and 10 percent of our operating budget for a healthy town. We’ve got to budget honestly and we also need to start getting to work on growing our economy so that the economy grows with the town.
When you have an economy that’s flat or declining for a couple of decades, it really hurts mill rate, the taxes and the town. We need to grow an economy that actually supports the rising costs of running the town.
So that is my primary focus. Getting more economic development, bringing more business into Hamden. We really have to work with our partners, like Quinnipiac. We need to work with people who own commercial real estate in Hamden and make sure that we’re putting in businesses that attract foot traffic.
Q: When you talk about bringing businesses to Hamden, what is your strategy to get them here?
LG: Well, we have a couple of tools at our disposal. So, one is a qualified opportunity zone. It’s a federal program that’s designated by census tract. This is the area of southern Hamden, from the border of New Haven, up to Putnam Ave and then from about Fairview to Newholm and this gives us access to money that we can use to develop southern Hamden and make it ripe for businesses wanting to come here.
We have areas of town where we can simply put in some sewers north of Quinnipiac on Whitney Avenue. There are no sewers, so do businesses want to come here and put in septic? Nope. So there are some simple areas where we can put in a simple fix and generate growth.
Q: On your website, you talk about wanting to eliminate the achievement gap. Why is that a priority and how do you plan on getting rid of it?
LG: We want to decrease the achievement gap. Everything we do in Hamden public schools should be to lift test scores for all of our students. We have great programming in our Hamden public schools for kids who are doing very well. AP tests, AP classes that give college credits to kids who pass the test. We’ve got a new engineering program at Hamden High. It’s called HECA, Hamden Engineering Career Academy and there is so much being done for high achieving students, we need to make sure that we are also putting in a lot of effort into making sure that students are coming to school. That we don’t have chronic absenteeism. We need to make sure we are giving students every tool available so that they can learn well in school. Making sure that they’re well fees. Making sure that they’re not going to school hungry. They have the supplies they need for the classroom. Everything we do needs to be about engaging our students and helping them develop into the career or college after school.
Q: You talked about bringing in more diverse teachers because 61% of Hamden students are black or brown. How do you plan on bringing in more representation?
LG: I organized a panel discussion last January about recruiting and retaining more teachers of color and the Board of Education has some really great plans that they have developed since then. Their goal is to get some of their faculty who has a college degree already and put them on a path to getting their teachers certificate while being substitute teachers in our Hamden public schools. So they can be long term subs, they can go through all their professional development training that our teachers go through, while getting their teachers certificate. This can reduce the cost of our subs and it’s a great opportunity for us to encourage the minority faculty that we have already in our schools to have their teaching certificate and teach our kids.
It doesn’t really address the overall percentage of our faculty. It’s a step in the right direction though. I’d also like to see active recruitment of black and brown teachers from HBCU’s and make sure that we are really seeking out these great teachers. I would be more than happy to go on a tour of schools recruiting some teachers for Hamden from schools. But we have to make sure funding is available earlier on in the season.
What typically happens in Hamden is that we don’t really know how many teaching spots we have available for the fall until pretty late in the summer. It’s a lot of last minute hiring and by then people have already made decisions about where they are going to go to school. We have to make sure that we are being more active earlier on in the season.
Q: Quinnipiac and the town of Hamden have always had a rocky relationship. Where do you think that relationship comes from?
LG: Quinnipiac has a new president. That’s more of a clean slate that we’re working with there. I want to make sure we’re coming to the table with an understanding of each other’s goals and each others needs. I know that Quinnipiac wants to be a good partner and invest in Hamden but they want to do it in ways where they can put their stamp on it and say ‘Look what we’ve done for Hamden.’ For Curt Leng to put in his budget that Quinnipiac is going to give $2.2 million, that sets things off on a bad foot. We have to have those conversations in order to have a good working relationship instead of putting it out there in the press, putting it out there is a public document that this is what you’re demanding.
In addition to that, he didn’t attend President Olian’s inauguration. That’s not a good way to start a relationship.
Q: How do you plan on building a stronger relationship?
LG: We need to have good communication. We are sharing goals and needs. It’s in Quinnipiac’s best interest to have Hamden in good financial standing as a town. And it’s in Hamden’s best interest to have a vibrant university as part of our town.
Q: You have built your campaign around the promise of financial responsibility. Can you explain what that means?
LG: It starts with a budget. So we need a budget that is honest. An honest representation of what we can expect for revenues and funds, honestly, what we are required to fund. And that’s not happening right now and as a result we are seeing deficits every single year. Last year, it was almost $10 million. And the way that it’s being solved at the end of the year is by not contributing what we should towards the pension as well as taking money that was borrowed to infrastructure repairs, not doing the repairs and then putting the borrowed money into the budget to offset expenses.
Q: Overall, what has surprised you most about the campaign process?
LG: I was in full expectation in the amount of work that it would be. I knew this was going to be full-time, nights away from my family. I guess what was unexpected was maybe negativity. I have been focusing on the issues and focusing on communicating with voters and making sure that I am knocking on as many doors as possible. And I feel like that’s what it’s really going to take to win. I think when you have face to face conversations, there’s more respect in person and social media can just be a little bit nasty so sometimes that’s hurtful.
Q: So speaking of negative. There was a Tesla incident a while ago. A lot people claimed that you endangered the lives of your children. What’s your response to that?
LG: I don’t think that the best decisions were made that night but I think that when people are the victims of crime, I don’t think they’re expected to act perfectly. Women get raped and then take a shower because they feel disgusting and destroy evidence. Are they doing the right thing? How can I judge them for that. There’s a lot of judgment for my family and we’re the victims of crime and I think it’s hard to think about how would you make these decisions. I don’t really like passing judgement on other people when that’s not my experience.
Q: Looking back on the experience, was there anything you would have done differently?
LG: Of course but I’m trying not to victim blame or victim shame myself. I have friends who are mental health professionals who are constantly saying “don’t do that to yourself.” It’s not good for me to do those kind of things to myself. So, of course there are things that I would do differently if I was not a victim of a crime. But I am not concentrating on that. I’m trying to move one and what ultimately was the most harmful for me and my family was the negativity, the judgment and the shaming. My daughter was bullied the next day at school and that was the result of the social media negativity.
