1.18.23 NPC

Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh

Homicides against Black women and girls are on the rise

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

In the past three years, African American women and girls were killed in Allegheny County at a disturbing, and what some call frightening, rate.

Within the period of 2012

to 2019, only in one year (2016) were 10 or more Black women and girls

killed in the county. But at least 10 Black women and girls were killed in

the county in each of the past three years (2020, 2021, 2022).

And to make matters worse, two of the first four homicides in Allegh-

eny County in 2023 were Black women. Though it’s early, the number of Black women and girls killed in the county by the end of 2023 could be the highest number in a single year

Honoring the life of a trailblazer

Vivian Hewitt, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s first Black librarian

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

Who was the first Black librarian employed at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh?

Vivian Hewitt, of course. The historic feat occurred in 1944, at the library’s Hill District branch, which, back then, was on Wylie Avenue. Hewitt then moved to the Homewood branch in 1947.

“She is a rock star in libraryland,” said Andrew Medlar, president and director of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, during an event honoring her life, Dec. 3, 2022, at the Homewood branch.

Hewitt died on May

29, 2022, at age 102. But the impact she made on youth, adults and the field of education will live on.

“She was an exceptional educator, teacher, library pioneer, and citizen for many decades, and it is an honor to celebrate her life, which embodies knowledge and education,” Medlar said. “We are honored that her legacy remains a part of our library’s enduring history.”

“Her passion, her perseverance, her dedication,” added Melvin Hubbard El with Mayor Ed Gainey’s office, “will live forever.”

The Aurora Reading Club of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Library of Pitts-

HEWITT LASCHON,

Martello)

MARIVIEN

a granddaughter of the late Vivian Hewitt, with Marivien’s 3-year-old daughter, Lulu. (Photo by J.L.

TEMANI LEWIS AND HER DAUGHTER, KAARI THOMPSON, WERE KILLED IN DEC. 2022. TARAE WASHINGTON WAS KILLED IN JANUARY 2023. JASMINE GUEST WAS KILLED IN 2021.

43 Black women and girls have been killed in Allegheny County since 2020.

Pa. court rules state House special elections will be held Feb. 7

by Stephen Williams Philadelphia Tribune Staff Writer

State Commonwealth Court has ruled that special elections for two vacant house seats will take pace Feb. 7, a decision that could ultimately lead to state Rep. Joanna McClinton, D-191st District, becoming speaker of the House.

Democrats won 102 seats for a majority on Nov. 8, but the majority was called into question after the death of Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-33rd District, in October, before the election, but whose name remained on the ballot.

Also on the date state Rep. Austin Davis, D-32nd District, was elected the state’s first Black lieutenant governor with Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro; and state Rep. Summer Lee, D-34th District, was elected as the first Black woman from Pennsylvania to the U.S. House of Representatives.

DeLuca’s death and the subsequent resignations by Davis and Lee quickly took away the Democrats’ majority.

This set in motion a power struggle to decide which party controlled the House.

For her part, McClinton took the position that she was acting House speaker, and filed paperwork to schedule the special elections on Feb.7, the same date of the election for DeLuca’s seat.

But state Rep. Bruce Cutler, R-100th District, of Lancaster, the previous House speaker, claimed the Republicans now had the majority and filed a suit seeking an injunction to post -

pone two of the special elections until May.

In Friday’s decision, the court said Cutler failed to show that he was “entitled,” to the emergency relief he sought and failed to prove that he has a clear right to the relief or that he would “suffer” immediate and irreparable harm.

“Today’s decision is good news for the nearly 200,000 Allegheny County residents currently without representation in the state House,” said Nicole Reigelman, House Democratic Caucus spokesperson. “Now county elections officials can proceed to print ballots and make final preparations for special elections in the 32nd, 34th, and 35th legislative districts Feb. 7.

Since all three seats are in heavily Democratic Allegheny County, the Democrats are expected to win all three seats. The Republicans have said they will still field candidates in each election.

Meanwhile, on Jan. 3, House Republicans nominated Mark Rozzi, D-126th District, of Berks County, as House speaker. McClinton and the Democrats supported the move and Rozzi was elected that day.

Rozzi had vowed to govern in a bipartisan way and said he would not caucus with either party. But he has not commented on when or if he would change parties.

After Rozzi’s election as speaker, he reaffirmed the Feb. 7 date for the elections.

McClinton filed a motion to dismiss the injunction, saying Rozzi’s actions had made the

matter moot. In it’s decision Friday, the court agreed, saying Rozzi’s election and reaffirmation of the election schedule made the decision moot.

Cutler said in a statement: “Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court today decided to ignore basic math and prior law in ordering all three of these elections be held together on Feb. 7. Instead of resolving a dispute where the answer was self-evident based on the numbers, the court took the path of least resistance and thereby weakened the foundations of our republic and faith in the rule of law. This case was about who can exercise certain functions based upon simple numbers. House Republicans remained steadfast and consistent in our desire to hold elections and fill these seats in the normal course of business, and not through illegitimate loopholes.”

Rozzi announced recently the makeup of a group of six state representatives, three from each party, who will advise him on potential rules for the 2023-24 session. The Speaker’s Workgroup to Move Pennsylvania Forward will seek “a bipartisan agreement to end gridlock in the House,” Rozzi’s office said in announcing it will begin work Tuesday.

McClinton has not commented of whether she will seek the speaker’s chair if Democrats were to regain the majority in February.

(AP contributed to this story.)

This Week In Black History A Courier Staple

• JANUARY 18

1856—Daniel Hale Williams is born in Hollidaysburg, Pa. He became a pioneering surgeon and is generally credited with performing the first open heart surgery. He was a strong advocate of the emerging antiseptic and sterilization procedures of his day. He believed that many patients died or became ill in the hospital because of a lack of cleanliness. Williams’ open heart surgery which occurred July 10, 1893 when he repaired a knife wound to the chest of James Cornish. The operation was a success and Cornish lived another 20 years.

• JANUARY 19

1918—The founder of Ebony and Jet magazines, John H. Johnson is born on this day in Arkansas City, Ark. Shortly after the death of his father, Johnson’s mother moved the family to Chicago where Johnson attended high school during the day and read self-help books at night, laying the intellectual and motivational foundation for the eventual building of his publishing empire. Interestingly, among Johnson’s classmates at Chicago’s DuSable High School were Nate King Cole, Redd Foxx and future businessman, William Abernathy.

1944—Boxer Joe Frazier is born in Beauford, S.C. His fights with the legendary Muhammad Ali have become boxing classics.

1960—Basketball great Jacques Dominique Wilkins is born in Paris, France.

1971—The Congressional Black Caucus is first organized on this day in 1971.

• JANUARY

as the Singing Children. He then became a member of the famous Soul Stirrers. When he switched to secular music, he combined gospel and the blues to produce soul. Among his best known hits were “You Send Me,” “Everybody Loves the Cha Cha Cha,” and “Twisting the Night Away.” He was shot and killed as a result of a misunderstanding involving a woman at a Los Angeles motel in 1964.

1948—Two-time heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman is born on this day in Marshall, Texas. 2006—Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers scores 81 points in a 122 to 104 victory over the Toronto Raptors. The score was the second highest by a single player in the history of the National Basketball Association.

• JANUARY 23

1821—Minister Lott Cary leaves the United States with a group of freed slaves to establish a colony on the West African coast. In so doing, the group lays the foundation for the establishment of the nation of Liberia. Cary became acting governor of the settlement in August 1828, but died accidentally in November 1828. Nevertheless the colony survived even though it had to fight off attacks from native Africans and slave traders. Liberia became an independent republic in 1847. In 2006, it elected its first female president.

20

1900—Black North Carolina Congressman George H. White introduced legislation to make lynching any American a federal crime. But opponents allowed the bill to die in committee and it never came up for a vote. It is estimated that 105 Blacks were lynched that year.

1947—Josh Gibson , perhaps the most famous and outstanding athlete to play in the old Negro Baseball League, dies on this day in 1947.

1986—The first national holiday in honor of civil rights legend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is celebrated.

• JANUARY 21

1773—Poet Phyllis Wheatley, born in 1753, was freed on this day in 1773. Kidnapped in Africa and sold as a slave when she was only seven years old, Wheatley would become Black America’s first poet. She grew up in a prosperous Boston family that allowed her to learn to read. She not only mastered English but also excelled in Greek and Latin. Her first book of poetry received rave reviews in the United States and Europe.

1906—Pioneer Black aviator William Brown Chappell is born.

1941—Singer and political activist Richie Havens is born.

1942—Big Band leader Count Basie and his Orchestra recorded their famous “One O’clock Jump” for Okeh Records in New York City.

1950—R&B performer Billy Ocean is born.

1963—Former professional basketball great Hakeem Olajuwon is born in the West African nation of Nigeria.

1971—Twelve members of the Congressional Black Caucus boycotted President Richard Nixon’s State of the Union Address to protest his refusal to meet with them or address issues of concern to African-Americans.

• JANUARY 22

1822—“From slavery to wealth” is the phrase that best describes the story of Barney L. Ford, who was born into slavery on this day in 1822 in Stafford Court, Va.—the product of a Black woman and a plantation owner. He was raised on a plantation in South Carolina but with the aid of the “Underground Railroad” he escaped and headed west through Chicago (where he met his wife) to the gold fields of California where he was denied the right to stake a claim because he was Black. After being cheated by a shady lawyer, he headed to the Denver, Colo., area and in time built a barbershop, a restaurant and then a fine hotel. He also built a hotel in the Central American nation of Nicaragua. Despite obstacles and setbacks such as racists bombing his hotel, Ford kept bouncing back and over time became one of the wealthiest and most influential men in Denver. After 1860, he used his influence to fight for Black rights in Colorado.

1931—Sam Cooke is born in Clarksdale, Miss. He is considered by many as “The Father of Soul Music.” The son of a minister, Cooke began his career with a gospel group known

1891—Pioneering Black surgeon, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams , helped found Provident Hospital in Chicago, Ill. The hospital became one of the main teaching and training facilities for Black doctors and nurses who had frequently been denied entrance to White-owned medical facilities. It was also at Provident in 1893 that Williams achieved international fame by becoming the first American surgeon to perform open heart surgery.

1964—The 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified. It abolished the poll tax, which had been used in many Southern states to prevent Blacks from voting. Interestingly, the Republican-controlled legislature in Georgia in 2006 passed a voter identification law that many Blacks complained was no more than a poll tax in disguise.

1976—Paul Robeson , perhaps the greatest combination of actor, singer, athlete and political activist ever produced by Black America, died on this day in Philadelphia, Pa. During his life Robeson not only achieved a brilliant career on stage and in early movies but was also an ardent fighter for Black rights and socialist causes. As a result he was the target of a massive government campaign of disruption and character assassination.

1977—The highly acclaimed television mini-series “Roots” begins airing on ABC. “Roots” received 37 Emmy Award nominations and won nine. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings for the finale, which still holds a record as the third-highest-rated U.S. television program. The series introduced LeVar Burton in the role of Kunta Kinte and was based on a novel by Alex Haley who also wrote the “Autobiography of Malcolm X.”

JANUARY 24

1874—Arthur Schomburg is born Arturo Alfonso Schomburg in Puerto Rico. After moving to New York City in April 1891, he became known over time as the “Sherlock Holmes” of Black history because of his relentless digging for Black historical truths and accomplishments. Reportedly, his drive to discover Black history was sparked by a fifth grade teacher who told him “Black people have no history, no heroes, no great moments.”

1885—Martin R. Delaney (18121885) dies on this day in Xenia, Ohio. Delaney was perhaps the leading Black nationalist of the 1800s. After fighting in the Civil War to end slavery and becoming the first Black field officer in the U.S. Army, Delaney became disillusioned with America. He began to advocate Black separatism and/or a return to Africa. He was a journalist and a physician who wrote several books including one detailing how ancient Egypt and Ethiopia were the first great civilizations long before ancient Greece. Although relatively unknown today, Delaney was also brilliant. Abraham Lincoln once told his Edwin Stanton, secretary of war, about Delaney, saying, “Do not fail to meet this most extraordinary and intelligent Black man.”

1993—The first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall died on this day. Unlike current justice Clarence Thomas, Marshall was a true progressive and fighter for Black rights, having spent years with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund waging ongoing battles with the legal establishment to protect and expand rights and opportunities for African Americans.

SWEARING IN CEREMONY— Pennsylvania Democratic floor leader Rep. Joanna McClinton, right, stands alongside state Rep. Jordan Harris and other fellow state House members as they are swornin Jan.3, 2023 at the state Capitol in Harrisburg.

McAuley Ministries awards 13 grants totaling over $1.6 million to nonprofits

Grants support advocacy, capacity building, community development, education, and health and wellness initiatives

McAuley Ministries, Pittsburgh Mercy’s grant-making foundation, awarded in the final quarter of 2022 13 grants totaling over $1.6 million to support advocacy, capacity building, community development, education, and health and wellness initiatives in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, Uptown, and West Oakland communities, the New Pittsburgh Courier has learned.

Since its founding by the Pittsburgh Sisters of Mercy in 2008, McAuley Ministries has awarded 930 grants and community support totaling $52.6 million to nonprofit organizations that advance its grant-making priorities. The West Oakland-based, grant-making foundation awards on average $3.5 million in grants annually, making it one of the region’s largest philanthropic foundations.

Grouped by grant-making priorities, the recipients of the most recent grants are as follows.

Advocacy

- Black Political Empowerment Project (B-PEP): $51,000 for a third year of funding for the GetOut-the-Vote project first funded by McAuley Ministries in 2020. The project focuses on voter engagement, education, participation, and turn-out in Pittsburgh’s two majority-minority County districts—District 6, which covers the Hill District, Uptown, and parts of West Oakland—and District 9, which covers Homewood and the East End.

Capacity Building

- Hello Neighbor: $20,400 for operating support to assist all areas of programming that serve the Hill District, Uptown, West Oakland, and beyond. This area is home to seven recently resettled families and several mentee families. Their program provides Smart Start participants with access to maternal care

and supports students in its Study Buddy virtual tutoring program.

- Womanspace-East Inc.: $500,000 to complete a series of urgent facility capital improvements including replacement of the HVAC system in the family apartment, common space, and office areas of the building; window replacements; interior painting; exterior repairs including historic entry stairs for safe building access; and enhanced supportive services programming to aid in its efforts to provide holistic care for families in need of emergency shelter.

Community Development

- Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pittsburgh Inc: $102,000 to support St. Joseph House of Hospitality which serves men over 50 who have been homeless or are currently at risk of homelessness.

The program provides single room occupancy in private secure rooms, year-round food service, and case management services for residents. The grant will support the case management function.

Disaster Response

- American National Red Cross: $10,000 emergency grant in response to flood victims in Jackson, Miss., and from Hurricane Ian.

- Brother’s Brother Foundation: $10,000 to support victims of Hurricane Fiona and Hurricane Ian.

- Roman Catholic Bishop of Owensboro: $10,000 in response to flooding in Eastern Kentucky.

Education - Early Excellence Project: $507,200 to support the launch of the Margaret Washington Early Learning Center (MWELC) in the Hill District. The Center will serve households with infants to children up to age 12, in the Hill District, Uptown, and

West Oakland, with an emphasis on families who are surviving poverty and those who have been historically marginalized.

- Ozanam Inc.: $61,200 to continue their Legacy Hill Project which inspires children and youth through culturally specific frameworks capitalizing to excel and achieve through innovative educational experiences that embrace STEM and digital literacy and prepare students with 21st century learning skills.

- Strong Women, Strong Girls Inc.: $20,400 to support high-quality mentor-

ship programs in collaboration with local schools, community centers, and higher educational institutions. Through the partnership with McAuley Ministries, SWSG has been providing out-ofschool time enrichment and mentoring to 30 girls at four program sites in the Hill District.

Health & Wellness

- 412 Food Rescue Inc.: $51,000 to support the distribution of food to the Hill District, Uptown, and West Oakland communities. During the last grant cycle, it expanded from 26

to 35 partners and more than tripled its home delivery services from 12 to 42 households.

- Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank: $51,000 in financial support of its general operations. It provides food and technical assistance to 14-20 organizations in McAuley Ministries’ focus neighborhoods.

- Pittsburgh Mercy: $267,507 over three years to support the opening of a second comprehensive health center to serve the needs of vulnerable individuals who are experiencing homelessness

in the Pittsburgh region. The new, planned 3,500 square feet clinic, which will be located at Bethlehem Haven at 905 Watson Street in Uptown, Pittsburgh, will include two physical examination rooms, three therapy rooms, and one room for dental services. This new space will be operated by Pittsburgh Mercy and will offer much-needed behavioral health, physical health, and dental health services to better address the health disparities that exist within this vulnerable population.

Report: 43 Black killed in

ever, if the unfortunate trend continues.

The New Pittsburgh Courier combed through the homicide data kept by Allegheny County as far back as 2012. The data shows that in 2022, 11 Black women and girls were killed. In 2021, the number was 17. In 2020, the number was 13. That’s 41 Black women and girls killed in Allegheny County in the past three years (not counting 2023).

Back in 2012, the 6 Black women and girls killed represented the lowest number in the last 10 years. The killings stayed in the single digits in the years since, except for 2016, when the Wilkinsburg mass shooting on March 9 took the lives of four Black adult women, one adult male and an unborn male child. That year, 13 Black women and girls were killed.

Homicides, unfortunately, are not new to Pittsburgh and the county. The 129 homicides that Allegheny County recorded in 2022 was a more-than 25 percent increase than in 2021. Within city limits, Pittsburgh had 15 more homicides in 2022 (71) than in 2021 (56). Homicides are occurring not just at 2 a.m., but in broad, brazen daylight. They’re occurring not just outside the club, but outside of schools. The only constant is that the overwhelming majority of the homicide victims in Allegheny County are Black.

Now data is showing that more and more of those victims are Black women and girls.

EVEN BEFORE THE RISE in homicides against Black women and girls that’s started since the COVID-19 pandemic, Pittsburgh had already scored failing marks for Black women. According to a 2019 Gender Equity Commission report, Pittsburgh was the worst city for Black women to live in, in just about every way. Black women were five times more likely to live in poverty than White men in Pittsburgh, and while White women only made 78 cents to ev -

ery White men’s dollar, Black women were even worse, making 54 cents to the White men’s dollar. The report found that fetal deaths are twice as likely to occur with Pittsburgh’s Black women than the city’s White women. Even worse, Pittsburgh’s Black fetal mortality is higher than Black fetal mortality in 94 percent of similar cities, the report noted. Pittsburgh’s Black maternal mortality rate is higher than Black maternal mortality rates in 97 percent of similar cities, according to the breathtaking report. The researchers of the report also found that “Black women have high homicide rates across all the age groups,” and that Black women in Pittsburgh “are more likely to die of homicide than Black women in 93 percent of similar cities.”

Remember, the data the researchers used to make that statement came from the years prior to the pandemic, prior to the 43 Black women and girls who’ve lost their lives to homicide since 2020, a few months prior to the report being released in September 2019.

Pittsburgh is not alone in the spike in homicides against Black women and girls. Nationally, in 2020, there was a 33 percent increase from the previous year, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And in 2021, there was another increase, to about 2,075 homicides, roughly 275 more than the 2020 total, according to CDC data.

“We have been looking at the trends and the data because it is alarming and concerning,” voiced Dr. Kathi Elliott, executive director of Gwen’s Girls, an organization in Pittsburgh dedicated to bettering the lives of girls and young women.

The Courier spoke with a number of individuals in the Pittsburgh community pertaining to the topic of increased killings of Black women and girls, and each person agreed that Black women and girls were not killed at this high of a rate back in the ‘90s, when the gangs infiltrated parts of Black Pittsburgh and the Mon Valley and homicides vastly increased.

“I do believe there was a different level of respect given to Black

women and girls back then,” said Brenda Tate, the 40-year law enforcement veteran who spent 35 of those years with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, retiring as a detective. “There were more people protecting them in the community. I can remember, and I’m 73 years old, there was never a time in the community that I would be in a certain place, that someone didn’t stop me and say, ‘Does your mother know you’re here.’ My brothers didn’t get that same treatment, but someone always had their eyes on Black women and girls in the community.”

“It’s a trend that has been on the uptick for a while now,” said Diane Powell, director of Community and Family Builders. She was formerly the director of Black Women 4 Positive Change, in Pittsburgh.

“It’s no secret that African American women have always been the least protected and the most victimized in our society.”

WHAT IS THE REASONING behind so many Black women’s and girls’ lives being taken of late? Data from the CDC points to intimate partner violence as a major reason, in general terms, as to why women are killed. But the same data shows that Black women are more prone, 45 to 33 percent, to have the death caused by a person “unknown” to the woman. That data suggests that Black women are more prone to either being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or were linked to a person who had issues with another person. That person then took out their issues via gunfire aimed at the man, or man and woman. More White women are prone to being killed by a domestic partner they know.

When it comes to drug use, dying from an overdose doesn’t always get classified as a homicide. However, an addiction to drugs could lead to being put in a negative situation that could end in violence.

The Courier spoke with Erica L. Givner, LCSW, owner of Vision Towards Peace counseling services, in Wilkinsburg. A number of her clients have dealt with the loss of a Black daughter, granddaughter, aunt, niece or female friend.

Givner’s oldest daughter had to deal with the loss of her sister on her father’s side, Shavaughn Wallace, in 2009.

Wallace was 18 years old and pregnant when she was killed. She was sitting in the passenger seat of a car on the North Side, talking with friends, when a person started firing at the crowd. In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, her grandmother, Shirley Gaines, felt that she had fallen in with the wrong crowd prior to her death.

Givner, as a licensed therapist, said she doesn’t like to use the word “choice” when it comes to decisions of younger adult Black women.

“At 25 is when we get our adult brain,” she told the Courier, “and so you still have to remember, these women that are dying under 25 don’t have their adult brain. Yes, they have some idea of choice but then again, the adolescent brain

HOMICIDE FROM A1

women and girls have been

Allegheny County since 2020

is extremely reckless. When the adolescent brain is reckless, I don’t think they understand the caliber of their decisions and the impact of the decisions that they’re making.”

Givner said the main difference between the “adult” brain and the “adolescent” brain is, “you don’t have the ‘feeling.’ You only have thought and behavior. In the adult brain, we have thought, feeling and then behavior, and the ‘feeling’ is what allows us to respond. With pain comes change, and the adolescent brain is not developed like that.”

Givner encourages Black women and girls to seek therapy, to “go deeper to understand the relationship and the bond that they’re looking for regarding (among other things) their parents and how their rearing has impacted them today. People have to be brave enough to unpack how these traumas and/ or experiences has impacted them.”

Tate told the Courier that she has seen more instances of young Black girls reported on the news as missing these days. “We never saw this many young girls missing,” she said of her days with the force. She said that suggests that some young Black girls may be “getting involved with at-risk behavior, and getting involved with people that can be harmful to them.”

“I would never blame parents, but parenting and having that support is definitely something we need to invest more in,” Dr. Elliott said.

“One of the things we try to do is to help our girls understand the risks that they put themselves in when they start to get involved in relationships,” Dr. Elliott added. “Oftentimes they’re in relationships and before they know it, they’re caught up in some of the negative things that are happening in our community.”

OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS, the Black Pittsburgh community has endured the double homicide of 21-year-old Temani

Lewis and her daughter, 4-year-old Kaari Thompson, in the Lincoln-Lemington neighborhood (December 2022); the shooting death of Jasmine Guest, 24, killed while riding on the highway in May 2021; the shooting death of Betty Averytt, 59, as she simply sat at a bus stop on the North Side in October 2022; and so many other deaths of Black women and girls.

The year 2023 got off to the same trend. On Jan. 5, 47-year-old Tarae Washington, of Arlington, was stabbed to death, police believe, by her estranged husband, William Fitzgerald, who

is also Black. Fitzgerald has since been arrested. The following day, Jan. 6, two people were found shot to death in Pitcairn; one of them was a Black woman, 20-year-old Jade Baker-Wright. No one has been arrested in connection with that shooting. Tate, the longtime police detective, said that “to literally kill Black women at the rate they’re doing it now, that’s unheard of for me.”

She added: “We have a problem where we’re not being responsive to young women, whether it’s a serial killer or a lone wolf, boyfriend,

spouse, there’s no conversation. We’re caught up now in a survival mode with young Black men and violence, but nobody is paying atten -

tion in trying to educate or talk to young girls so that they don’t end up in situations that’s going to put them at risk. Who has their eyes on

the community anymore? Who is helping Black girls understand that there is danger out there? Who’s doing that?”

NANDI FITZGERALD AND TATIANA HILL WERE KILLED IN A NEW YEAR’S EVE TRIPLE HOMICIDE IN HOMEWOOD IN 2021. HOMICIDE

SANKOFA VILLAGE FOR THE ARTS DANCERS AT COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT ASSOCIATION’S 2022 KWANZAA CELEBRATION. (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)

KWANZAA CANDLES

HUNDREDS OF TOYS WERE GIVEN OUT TO THE YOUTH AT THE KWANZAA CELEBRATION IN HOMEWOOD.

RASHAD BYRDSONG SPEAKING AT KWANZAA

2022 Kwanzaa Celebration

THE FOOD WAS ON POINT AS WELL...!

KOREY JOHNSON JR., MARTELL COVINGTON, SHOMBAY KENT

HUNDREDS OF TOYS WERE GIVEN OUT TO THE YOUTH AT THE CEA’S 2022 KWANZAA EVENT.

Honoring Vivian Hewitt, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s first Black librarian

burgh jointly presented the Dec. 3 event. Hewitt was a member of the Aurora Reading Club for 75 years.

“Vivian’s legacy as the first Black librarian in the Carnegie Library of system, seven decades later, is still making an impact,” said Nadine Banks, Aurora Reading Club president. “Her participation and contributions to Aurora throughout her 75-year membership expressed her true commitment to her interest in reading and the arts. Many members of Aurora, like Vivian, are making their mark in Pittsburgh. It’s important that we acknowledge and celebrate our contribution to Pittsburgh’s history.”

Born in 1920 in New Castle, Hewitt graduated from Geneva College in 1943 and then attended Carnegie Library School at Carnegie Institute of Technology, now known as Carnegie Mellon University, earning her Bachelor of Science Degree in Library Science in 1944. Hewitt is recognized by both Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh as an alumna.

She left Pittsburgh in 1949 to work at Clark Atlanta University, in Atlanta. There she met her husband, John H. Hewitt, a professor at Morehouse College. Hewitt later served as librarian for The Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In 1978, Hewitt became the first Black president of the Special Libraries Association.

Hewitt received a number of awards during her career, according to a Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh press release. She was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Citation from the University of Pittsburgh-Carnegie Library School Alumni Association, Merit Award from Carnegie Mellon Univer-

HEWITT FROM A1

FAMILY MEMBERS OF VIVIAN HEWITT CELEBRATED HER LIFE AT THE HOMEWOOD LIBRARY. From left: Arthur Easton, LeighAnn Hewitt Easton, Ada Easton, Clifford Laschon, and Marivien Hewitt Laschon. Being held is Lulu. (Photos by Courier photographer J.L. Martello)

ROSLYNN WILSON, SHIRLEY GOLDEN, PAM GOLDEN, MARGARET BURLEY, NANCY WASHINGTON, KAREN PRICE

LEIGHANN HEWITT EASTON, VIVIAN HEWITT’S GRANDDAUGHTER

SEE HEWITT A9

HEWITT FROM A8

sity, and the L.H.D. from Geneva College. She was recognized by the American Library Association, and in 1984 she was inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame.

In 2016, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain bestowed the title of Dame upon Hewitt for her work in the service of humanity. In 2017, Hewitt received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at Carnegie Mellon University’s 120th Commencement. Hewitt and her husband amassed a significant collection of art, and a large part of that collection, known as the John & Vivian Hewitt Collection of African American Art, is now permanently housed at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture in Charlotte.

At the event, the New Pittsburgh Courier spoke with Hewitt’s two granddaughters who were in attendance, LeighAnn Hewitt Easton and Marivien Hewitt Laschon.

“She loved books, she loved reading, and the Aurora Reading Club and the Homewood Library, and the City of Pittsburgh were really instrumental in her development as a young woman,” said LeighAnn Hewitt Easton. That helped “to instill some of the character that she needed going through her life.”

Marivien Hewitt Laschon said her grandmother “inspired me so much in my own pursuit of education and my work ethic.”

Marivien Hewitt Laschon lives in Moon Township. She’s originally from Maryland, but she said Vivian Hewitt would speak so highly of Pittsburgh, that it convinced Marivien Hewitt Laschon to look at some colleges in the area. She chose to attend LaRoche University, and she’s been in the area ever since.

“She called Pittsburgh home even though she lived in Manhattan (New York City) for decades,” Marivien Hewitt Laschon told the Courier. Vivian Hewitt also loved the arts and theater. “She would take us to every Broadway she when we were in Manhattan. She’d be 10 steps ahead of us. She was a very petite lady, but she could walk very fast,” Marivien Hewitt Laschon said.

And as for a fond memory of Vivian Hewitt for LeighAnn Hewitt Easton? “For every birthday, or special occassion, she and my grandfather would pick a book and then personally inscribe it and date it for us,” she said. “It’s one (a tradition) that I can actually pass down to my children. Not just the love of books or collecting books, but being part of a library, getting to know the librarian, being involved in the community, learning to love to read, and then wanting to ask questions and find the answers.”

Praise & Worship

ST. BENEDICT THE MOOR CATHOLIC CHURCH

91 Crawford Street Pgh., PA 15219 412-281-3141 Sunday Mass 11 AM www.sbtmparishpgh.com

Rev. Thomas J. Burke- Pastor Rev. C. Matthew HawkinsParochial Vicar Rev. David H. TaylorSenior Parochial Vicar.

East Liberty Presbyterian Church Rev. Patrice Fowler-Searcy and Rev. Heather Schoenewolf Pastors 412-441-3800

Worship in person or Online on Facebook/YouTube www.ELPC.church

Summer Worship.......10:00 a.m. Taize -Wednesdays.........7:00 p.m.

Join our growing Praise and Worship Church Community!

For rate information, call 412-4818302, ext. 128. We want to feature positive youth from our Pittsburgh church community. Please mail their bio and photo to: New Pittsburgh Courier 315 E. Carson St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219 or email us: religion@newpittsburghcourier.com

FROM MAYOR GAINEY’S OFFICE, MELVIN HUBBARD EL

NADINE BANKS, PRESIDENT OF THE AURORA CLUB OF PITTSBURGH (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)

CLARENCE CURRY AND AGNES CURRY

The Skin Game

Are NFL, MLB referees biased against some Black players?

The 2022 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers as well as many of their fellow combatants has concluded. Missed tackles, interceptions, fumbles and blocked kicks are just a few of the errors that prematurely ended the campaigns of many NFL teams. However, penalties such as holding, false starts, pass interference, and unsportsmanlike conduct are just a few of the violations called during a competition that have sent many combatants home to the recliner to cry into their Bud Light, Coors Light or whatever brand of suds that provide comfort for them.

But alas, there is another insidious and sometimes premeditated factor that becomes the sculptor of the “clay of competition.” That factor is officiating. Referees are supposedly provided to monitor the combatants to keep the sometimes-bloodthirsty combatants from morphing into paid “assassins.”

However, we must ask ourselves the 1-billion-dollar question. Have the men who are hired to monitor the game morphed into the “assassins” of the integrity of the game? The effect of inadequate, incompetent, and downright biased officiating has become a toxin and sometimes has become venomous when certain officials abandon objectivity when policing the competition. Many officiants may become soldiers of subjectivity when called upon to render fair and unbiased opinions about violations committed by players during competition based solely upon their actions, not the amount of melanin or lack thereof contained in their skin. There are times when racial bias doesn’t even apply. Officials sometimes just do not like certain players and are sometimes just waiting to throw a flag against them.

Los Angeles Chargers linebacker Joey Bosa has

recently taken issue with questionable officiating. Here is what Bosa recently had to say about the current state of officiating. “If (the refs) blow a call that ruins an entire team’s season, they get to —they’re probably back in the locker room after the game, like, ‘Ha, got that a--hole. You know, yeah, got him. Fifteen yards. What a loser.’ I guarantee you that’s what they’re f--ing talking back in the back. Whatever, power trip. I’m sick of those f--ing people.”

Wow Joey, say how you really feel. It might be a bit harsh, but I can guarantee you my grandmother’s last pork chop that many NFL players, especially players of color, are a silent majority that feel exactly the same way Bosa does. After James Harrison, the former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, put a few players to sleep, it was alleged by Harrison and a fellow Baltimore Ravens combatant, Terrell Suggs,

that Harrison was being targeted not for actual violations but for his aggressive personality and style of play.

In a 2010 Associated Press article, the headline was, “Linebacker says NFL targeting him.”

Here is an excerpt from that article: “Pittsburgh

Ravens player, linebacker Terrell Suggs, argued Wednesday the league is focusing extra and possibly unwarranted attention on any Harrison hit.

‘Your guy over there, No. 92 (Harrison), I think he is red-flagged,’ Suggs said during a conference call with Pittsburgh reporters.

“The referees are kind of looking for him. Even if he breathes on a quarterback wrong, he might get a flag.

... I think they are looking at him more closely than they are everybody else in the league.’”

Steelers linebacker James Harrison promises he’s not changing his aggressive style of play, even if the NFL and his own coach agree he must. Harrison believes he is being unfairly targeted for hard hits that have drawn $125,000 in fines for four infractions since mid-October. His own teammates and at least one Baltimore

In my opinion, this behavior is just a continuation of the systemic racism that exists in sports officiating just as there is systemic racism that exists in every other facet of American life. Do you think that an individual that is a cross-burner in private does not apply that belief in other indirect ways throughout every aspect of their life?

If an individual calls a biased and unwarranted

penalty against a player, that is the equivalent of a cross-burning in the workplace. From MLB legends like the late Jackie Robinson and Frank Robinson, to Dusty Baker (who just won a World Series with the Houston Astros), they’ve all acknowledged that overt bias in officiating has and continues to exist in sports. The NFL even had asinine and stupid rules against “excessive” celebrating. Maybe if a few of these power players could perform on the field, they would not be so insecure about the players that perform and pay their salaries. Maybe if they were more competent, they could celebrate the right calls a bit more as well. Use instant replay to review every contested call. What in the heck is instant replay for, if certain plays and rules prohibit the use?

Pittsburgh Steelers....return to...Glory?!?!

:10—Let’s take a moment here and remember how we got here . . . #1your Pittsburgh Steelers have six Super Bowl titles, the most in NFL history. And I know you want to remind me that they’re tied with New England and that would be true if the so-called “Patriots” had not cheated to get two of them! #2 - Greatest Super Bowl quarterback of all-time, Terry Bradshaw. Again, Brady cheated . . . and if ya want Joe Montana, you can have him.

#3 - Greatest Super Bowl running back . . . of course, Franco Harris! #4 - One of, if not the greatest O-lines of all time. #5 - Last, but not least, the greatest

defense in NFL history, hands down. You will hear noise about the 1985 Bears . . . the Purple People Eaters, and Doomsday Defense. The only difference is they didn’t have Mel Blount, J. T. Thomas, Donnie Shell, Mike Wagner, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Dwight White, L. C. Greenwood, Ernie “Fats” Holmes and, of course, the greatest D-lineman ever, “Mean” Joe Greene . . . all due respect to Rev. Reggie White . . . the Minister of Defense!

:09—We’ve had two great runs since these glory days with Jerome Bettis, Ben Roethlisberger, “Fast” Willie Parker, Hines Ward, Heath Miller,

Alan Faneca, Joey Porter, James Farrior, Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor, to be sure. But, if you were lucky enough to be there, you know there were none more super than the Team of the Decade Pittsburgh Steelers!!!

:08—The return to glory this offseason? Matt Canada is on a Greyhound to anywheresville; we need a new inside linebacker, ‘cause Devin Bush is on that bus, too; we need one more wide receiver, a new killer cornerback, the next tackle can be anybody but Dan Moore...you top that off with a defensive lineman/rusher that hates everything and everybody, and it’s showtime!

:07—Speaking of showtime, your Pitt Panthers men’s basketball team is back. Coach Capel has brought in some sure-nuff ballers. The close losses to Clemson and Duke to be assumed and the comeback win at Georgia Tech this past Saturday, Jan. 14, has all things at the Petersen looking “Good!” :06—“Cutch” is back, as in Andrew. And just in

time to at least stop the bleeding. No, they’re not going to the World Series, but the Gold Glove Batting Champion will help restore a winning attitude and pride to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ sinking ship.

:05—If you’ve seen the back of my SUV, you know I ride with Muhammad Ali, the Greatest of AllTime. A youngster questioned me the other day on who would win between Ali and Tyson . . . Even Tyson will tell you, Ali. Done and done.

:04—Hold tight boys and girls, my L.A. Lakers are not quite dead yet. News at Eleven!

:03—I would be lying to

you if I didn’t tell you . . . Yes, I am an Elvis Fan. The death of his daughter Lisa Marie came as a shock and great sadness . . . death after death these days. Just sadness!

:02—Get ready for it come to you this spring, the return of Champions Live Sports Talk Show. Live and in serious color! Stay tuned.

:01—No, I didn’t forget. Here’s your Super Bowl matchup. The Kansas City Chiefs will defeat whoever they play . . . Take it to your local bank!

:00—GAME OVER.

OneTen appoints Debbie Dyson President/COO

NEW YORK, Jan. 9, 2023

/PRNewswire/—

The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that OneTen, a coalition of leading executives and companies committed to hiring, promoting, and advancing one million Black individuals without four-year degrees into family-sustaining careers, today announced the appointment of Debbie Dyson as President and Chief Operating Officer, reporting to CEO Maurice Jones. In this newly created role, Dyson

will apply her more than 30 years of human capital management experience to scale OneTen’s operations and efforts, overseeing its strategic, financial, operational, technology, and marketing plans.

“Debbie has garnered industry-wide respect and established herself a leader with an unmatched ability to drive results,” Maurice Jones, OneTen CEO, said. “As

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland board appoints Carson Williams chair

The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that Doris Carson Williams, president and chief executive officer, African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania, was appointed chair of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland for 2023.

Williams served as deputy chair of the Cleveland board in 2021 and 2022, and as the chair of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Pittsburgh Branch, in 2016 and 2017. Williams also served as a director of the Federal Reserve

from 2014 to 2017.

Find small business success in 2023

by Sherri Kolade

With a new outlook and hopes on the horizon for a better economic future despite the reported gloom and doom, 2023 is shaping up to be an engaging year as numerous small businesses are bracing for economic uncertainty with a looming recession and inflation—yet they are now more equipped than ever.     With a MetLife and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce report showing that 85 percent of small business owners surveyed are concerned about inflation, fear of the unknown can be a big factor keeping these companies stuck in a rut of stagnation preventing growth and vision for this year ahead.

Small business owner Desi A. Johnson II, CEO of Des2fit Fit Corporate Wellness and Des2fit, told the Michigan Chronicle about how, especially over the past several years, he keeps his company afloat through checks and balances even during COVID-related economic setbacks.

Des2fit Fit Corporate Wellness was established to inform businesspeople in America about the newest health trends, assist organizations in lowering healthcare expenses, increase employee productivity, boost morale

and prioritize wellness in their workplace cultures.

“We were able to become a recession-proof organization because my company invested heavily in technology; we have become laser-focused on our niche market and we were able to quickly adapt to deliver to our corporate and individual clients due to the uncertainty of the pandemic,” Johnson said of the work that he and

from cities with large Black and Hispanic populations including Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Houston and Miami.

Despite the difficulties, 70 percent of CEOs claim that their company is doing better now than it was before the pandemic. In addition, 55 percent of executives predict that the Michigan economy will remain the same in the coming six to 12 months,

• Embrace adaptability and be able to pivot.

• Cut unnecessary costs and look at expenses and cash flow to help plan for your financial future— and avoid overspending.

• Keep in touch with employees.

David Cody, co-founder and co-CEO of NEWITY, a service provider for small businesses and the largest independent processor of the Paycheck Protection Program, recently told the Michigan Chronicle that the country’s economic environment today shows the need for even more access to capital.

his wife, Victoria Johnson, put in.

According to reports, Black-owned businesses, however, are also still thriving and ownership is up 28 percent compared to before the pandemic.      U.S. News & World Report related that 1.2 million African Americans were self-employed in 2022 compared to 1.1 million in February 2020.

The biggest increases in business formation came

22 percent predict an improvement, and 24 percent predict a decline; 43 percent predict that the U.S. economy will remain the same, 28 percent predict an improvement, and 28 percent predict a decline.

According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, being adaptable while enduring the storm is the key to recession-proofing a company, especially with business tips that include:

Money tips from ‘AI’ and ‘DC’

A few years ago I was listening to an audiobook titled, “The truth about your future” by Ric Edelman. Ric is a renowned money expert with concentration on investing. When I downloaded the book, I was expecting to hear his take on the future of investing. I’ve read and researched countless books, magazines and articles on investing. I’ve written several articles on investing. I thought the audiobook would share more of the same information I’ve read already. This book was different. In fact, this book wowed me. What really caught my attention in this book is his breakdown of exponential technology. In short, the book goes into detail about how technology, science and medicine continues to evolve at a blistering pace. He delves into how these advancements have extended our life expectancy and continues to render various jobs obsolete. He talks extensively about robotics, 3D printing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning.

We experience AI in our everyday lives. We’ve witnessed toll booths move from working people to EZ Pass. We’re witnessing more and more cashier’s checkout aisles turn into self-checkout. Various stores are starting to use Smart-Carts where you can tally your groceries as you place items in the cart. You can then pay at the cart. You wouldn’t need to stand in a checkout aisle. Amazon is using robots at its warehouses. Self-driving cars are becoming more common. 3D printing is building both residential and commercial buildings at superhuman speed.

The one thing that really wowed me while I was listening to the audiobook is this: AI, or artificial intelligence, is actively writing headline news stories and articles in nationally published newspapers and

magazines. As a financial journalist/columnist, I was shocked by this. As you can imagine, we humans can’t keep up with the bots. They’re able to produce more content in a day than humans can produce in a year. Will journalism as we know it be completely different 10 years from now?

Recently, I was listening to a random podcast on SiriusXM, when I heard them talking about CHATGPT. CHATGPT is an Artificial Intelligence ChatBot. CHATGPT was developed to generate human-like text in conversational context. It answers questions and can do things like write a poem in Snoop Doggy Dogg style. It can even write articles.

I downloaded the CHATGPT app to get a feel for how it works. I used it to co-write an article with me. The article was titled, “New Year, New Me.” I also used it a few times on my Facebook page. I asked CHATGPT for a money tip for the day. It gave me a money tip. I provided my unique perspective.

Below are money tips from AI and DC (Artificial Intelligence and Damon Carr):

AI: Make sure to track your spending and keep a budget to stay on track with your finances. Set a limit for each category of spending and stick to it.

DC: The very mention of the word budget sets off a feeling of confinement, restriction, limitation and loss of control. I admit there is a sense of confinement, restriction, and limitation associated with managing money—but it has nothing to do with a

budget. What confines, restricts and limits us is our income! So if you want to spend more, have more, and save more without sacrificing your lifestyle, you simply need to earn more. A more formal definition of a budget would be a plan for spending, saving, and investing money.

AI: Start tracking your spending so that you can identify wasteful habits. Keeping a record of where your money goes will show you where you can make adjustments and save more money each month.

DC: You are the boss of your money! If you don’t tell your money where to go, you’re going to wonder where it went. Money is the greatest magician. It can disappear right before your eyes without you knowing where it went. That’s because we tend to be reactive when it comes to spending money as opposed to being proactive. We spend first then we’re dismayed by how much we spent later. We should plan and decide how much we’re going to spend first and avoid spending more than we allocated. Call it what you will, cash flow planning, tracking your spending, or financial planning. It all boils down to the dreaded “B” word—Budgeting! Simply put, if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.

AI: Make sure you pay yourself first. Setting aside a portion of your income as soon as you receive it and allocating it to savings or investments can help you create a financial cushion and grow your wealth.

DC: “Pay yourself first” is age-old, sage advice but very few people do it. It’s not

According to nerdwallet. com, access to such capital is sometimes tricky with disparities plaguing small business owners as the ever-widening racial funding gap shuts Black business owners out more often of loan approvals. If they are approved it is not as frequent and at times for lower amounts with higher interest rates. However, capital is still a necessary part of the business.

“[It] provides people with an opportunity to help kind of bolster their business,” Cody said, adding that growing a small business does not happen overnight and tools

practical they say. The reason why it isn’t practical for a great majority of people is because their outgo (debts, expenses, lifestyle) exceeds their income or their outgo and income is neck-to-neck. In other words—No wiggle room between income and expenses. As a result, I redefined conventional. I say “Free yourself first”—create some wiggle room or margin between your income and expenses so that you can breathe, pay yourself first, save for other goals and have a life.

AI: Treat yourself to one money splurge each month to reduce money-induced stress. This could be anything from a night out with friends to a new item of clothing —the key is to find something that brings you joy without breaking the bank!

DC: You work too hard to earn money and not do something you enjoy on a consistent basis! Life isn’t fun when zero funds are allocated for you to spend on you. Establish a category in your budget and label it “blow money.” Keep it reasonable relative to your overall income and expenses. With this ”blow money” you can do whatever you want to do. Consider setting aside and saving this “blow money” with a couple of paychecks. That way you’ll accumulate a lump sum to blow on something more extravagant than usual from time to time.

The future of journalism may be to use Artificial Intelligence to our advantage. AI can generate ideas we didn’t think to write about. AI can quickly help us fact-check some things that take time to research. Those of us who are writers can add our unique personalities and perspectives to give it that true human spirit.

(Damon Carr, Money Coach can be reached @ 412-216-1013 or you can visit his website @ www. damonmoneycoach.com)

Bank of Cleveland, Pittsburgh Branch,

DORIS CARSON WILLIAMS

SEE DYSON B2

DEBBIE DYSON

According to reports, Blackowned businesses are still thriving and ownership is up 28 percent compared to before the pandemic.

California family whose beachfront properties were seized 100 years ago, sells land back to county for $20 million

by Stacy M. Brown For New Pittsburgh Courier

The great-grandchildren of the African American couple Willa and Charles Bruce, whose land in Southern California was taken in 1924 and returned to the family last year, have opted to sell it back to the local government for $20 million.

In the 1920s, the beach resort was extremely popular with African American tourists. At that time, Black people were not permitted on White beaches. The site became famously known as “Bruce’s Beach.”

The children and grandchildren of Charles and Willa Bruce fought for decades to get back the land.

Chief Duane Yellow Feather Shepard, a family historian and spokesman for the Bruce family, stated in a 2021 interview, “It was a very significant location because there was nowhere else along the California

coast where African Americans could go to enjoy the water.”

The Ku Klux Klan and other White supremacists often threatened the Bruce

family, but they kept the resort open and took care of the land.

In 1924, the municipal council used eminent domain to take the land to

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER (ANNUAL SALARY $158,544 - $237,828)

Pittsburgh Regional Transit is seeking a Chief Financial Officer. The CFO directs all financial activities of the organization, including accounting, payroll, accounts receivable and payable, fare collection systems (non-IT functions of same), treasury operations, Strategic revenue planning and grants accounting and programs, and procurement. This division currently includes Finance, Procurement/Purchasing, Strategic Planning, and Project Management.

The CFO has oversight of external and regulatory audits of PRT.

Working with the CEO and other members of the Senior Management team, the Chief Financial Officer helps chart and execute the long term and immediate financial course for Port Authority of Allegheny County d/b/a Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT).

This includes financial and capital planning, supporting fleet and facility plans for a carbon neutral future, community- and project-focused procurement and investment, strategic planning, and ensuring that the agency’s outlooks builds and boost equity as an employer, business partner, and transit agency. The CFO is also an integral partner to the CEO and other members of the Senior Management team in strategic planning for the organization.

The CFO has a key role in financial sustainability, organizational resilience and change management as the organization delivers service and investment in a pandemic impacted world that includes a changed public transit environment both at the national and local levels. The successful candidate should excel in interpersonal relation ships, teamwork, communication with varying audiences, and supporting impactful but incremental and budgetarily responsible change at PRT.

Essential Functions:

• With the CEO, Senior Management team, community partners, and the Board of Directors, develops the agency’s long-range financial plans, to include financial, service, and capital projections, to steer the growth of excellent, equitable, sustainable, and resilient transportation in Allegheny County.

• Oversees the financial management activities to ensure cost-effective utilization of financial resources, proper accounting, and reporting of the PRT’s finances and physical assets, proper investment and safeguarding of funds, and compliance with applicable rules, policies and legal requirements.

• Plans and implements fiscally responsible investment opportunities and financial strategies to improve PRT’s financial stability and cash position. Establishes and effectively maintains strategic relationships with local, state, and federal agencies, investment bankers, credit analysts, commercial bankers, and other members of the financial community in coordination with CEO and other members of the Senior Management team.

Job requirements include:

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or related field. MBA or CPA.

• Minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible accounting or finance experience that includes five (5) years of experience in managing the administration of complex financial departments or projects in a large public or private organization. Demonstrated success in strategic planning and execution with a particular focus on financial sustainability, resilience and change management to meet overall company or agency strategic goals and objectives.

• Minimum of five (5) years senior management-level supervisory experience.

• Effective and professional communication skills.

• Valid driver’s license.

• Availability for overnight traveling.

• Ability to coordinate various complex work assignments on short notice.

• Ability to function in a rapidly changing work environment.

• Ability to interpret, analyze, create, and explain complex federal and state funding formulas.

• Demonstrated ability in the use of Windows, and Microsoft Word and Excel. Proficient in the use of Microsoft Teams and One Drive. Proficient in the use of PRT’s PeopleSoft Financial Programs.

Preferred attributes:

• Experience with transit or transportation system and/or government agency financial and strategic planning management is highly desirable.

We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Interested candidates should forward a cover letter (with salary requirements) and resume to:

Inez Colon Employment Department 345 Sixth Avenue, 3rd Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527

IColon@RidePRT.org EOE

million.

The area contains two coastal properties and is currently used for lifeguard training.

Janice Hahn, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, revealed that the family would sell the property back to the local government.

Hahn stated that the price was set through an appraisal.

Hahn stated, “This is what reparations look like, and it is a model I hope governments around the country would adopt.”

The statement made by Hahn may or may not be exactly what the Bruce family desired in addition to the restitution of their land.

build a park. But, according to a TV show called “The Insider,” the area wasn’t used for many years.

Willa and Charles Bruce

fought back in court, but their compensation was only $14,000. In recent years, local officials have estimated the property’s value to be as high as $75

In 2021, Anthony Bruce, the great-great-grandson of Willa and Charles Bruce, told The New York Times, “An apology would be the least they could do.”

(Stacy M. Brown is NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent)

Are Americans financially educated on retirement savings?

by Josh Grant

For New Pittsburgh Courier

Financial education helps people learn about savings, credit, and loans. It also helps prepare people for life changes and weather the unexpected. Financial knowledge is essential when planning for retirement.

So, how prepared are adults in the United States for their retirement? The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) conducts polls on key issues, like retirement savings, that affect a person’s financial past, present, and future. Here’s what we have learned over the past year: • In a financial well-being poll conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, 85 percent of respondents confirmed that some aspect of their personal finances was causing them stress. For 31 percent of respondents, that

concern was “having enough saved for retirement.”

• In that same poll, 70 percent said they made financial adjustments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of that group, 27 percent increased contributions to their emergency savings, retirement savings, or other savings or investments.

In comparison, 21 percent tapped into emergency savings—or borrowed against retirement savings.

• In a poll about financial education mandates, 80 percent of adults said they wish they were required to complete a semester- or year-long course focused on personal finance education during high school. Also, 88 percent think their state should require a semesteror year-long course for high school graduation.

• In that same poll, 84 percent of those approaching retirement age said “spending and budgeting” should be

taught in schools.

Lifetime financial education can be a helpful tool in preparing for retirement. This includes understanding Social Security retirement benefits and making the most of retirement income. You can learn more on our Retirement page at www.ssa.gov/retirement.

A personal my Social Security account should be a part of your financial plan. With a secure my Social Security account, you can verify your earnings history, get personalized retirement benefit estimates, and more. If you don’t have an account, you can easily create one at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.

To learn more about NEFE’s mission, visit their website at www.nefe.org. Please share this information with friends and family.

(Josh Grant is Social Security District Manager in Pittsburgh, Pa.)

OneTen appoints Debbie Dyson

OneTen continues to grow and scale our efforts to hire one million Black talent into family-sustaining jobs, we need someone equipped to help us build muscle to achieve operational excellence, and Debbie is that person. I am excited for her to join us in our mission.”

Dyson comes to OneTen after holding multiple senior executive leadership positions, most recently as President of ADP’s National Account Services. Under her leadership, this multi-billion-dollar organization evolved to implement rich technology solutions and flourish with operational process improvements, year-over-year client retention, and commitment to enterprise service excellence.  She brings a depth of experience spanning many

disciplines, including client success delivery, business process optimization, and global enterprise solutions.

“OneTen is leading the charge in the skills-first hiring movement, and to advance even greater change, we need leaders like Debbie at the helm,” said co-chairs, Ginni Rometty, former Chairman and CEO, IBM, and Ken Frazier, former Chairman and CEO, Merck. “Debbie is an innovative leader whose decades of management, technology, and operational experience is similarly matched by an unwavering commitment to inspire and engage everyone around her. We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome her to OneTen.”

Among her accolades, Dyson was named one of the 50 Most Powerful Women in Business two years in a row by Black Enterprise Mag-

azine, as well as one of the 300 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Santa Clara University.

“There is no better feeling than having an opportunity that matches exactly where you are personally and professionally,” said Dyson. “I can easily say that is what OneTen represents for me. I am thrilled to join this fantastic organization grounded in a vision and mission to change the trajectory of how we empower, excel, and enhance the potential of these deserving individuals. The work is meaningful and life changing. Becoming part of this team to carry forward the efforts in motion and provide a path for acceleration through partnership and collaboration is a true honor.”

Find small business success in 2023

revenue slowdown.

to equip owners with the next steps are key. “Every small business is different.”

Cody also provided a rundown of the three dos and don’ts for small businesses in 2023.

The Dos   1. Embrace Financing Alternatives: SBA 7(a) loans are overlooked, but they can help to increase purchasing power for operational expenses and gain access to more affordable capi -

tal for payroll, rent and utilities.

2. Reduce Tax Liabilities: Reviewing tax incentives can uncover hidden savings based on existing operations, including the Employee Retention Tax Credits —which is misunderstood even by many tax professionals.

3. Continue to invest in growth.

The Don’ts

1. Ignore your balance sheet health and cost structure.

2. Be surprised by the

3. Trim Marketing Initiatives: Instead of cutting back, savvy owners should be strategically increasing their marketing and outreach spending during a recession.

Knowing the issues that were present last year can give savvy business owners the guidance they need for the new year.

DYSON FROM B1

IN THE 1920s, the beach resort was extremely popular with African American tourists. At that time, Black people were not permitted on White beaches.

SMALL BUSINESS FROM B1

Guest Editorial

Khalid Mumin appears a solid choice for state education secretary

Gov.-elect Josh Shapiro announced Monday that Khalid Mumin will be nominated for secretary of education after Shapiro is inaugurated Jan. 17.

A school superintendent who was named Pennsylvania Superintendent of the Year and has experience in both wealthy and poor districts, Mumin appears to be a solid choice. He was one of four finalists for 2021 National Superintendent of the Year.

Mumin has been superintendent of the Lower Merion School District, a wealthy White suburban school district, for a little over a year. Before that, he was superintendent for seven years in Reading, a majority Latino district that is one of the state’s largest and poorest districts.

At Reading, Mumin won superintendent of the year from the superintendents’ statewide trade association.

The state’s education secretary oversees a department that distributes more than $20 billion in federal and state taxpayer dollars, or about one-fifth of all money spent by the state. The vast majority of the money goes to public and private schools, institutions of higher education and pensions.

Mumin appears to have the right academic, fiscal and organizational skills needed for the post.

In addition to managing diverse school districts, Mumin has experience managing challenging financial and education concerns.

When he took the job in Reading, the district was designated as being in financial distress by the Department of Education and as “highly dysfunctional” by the auditor general. The district was in danger of being taken over by the state and suffering from a revolving door of superintendents coming and going.

At Reading, Mumin “demonstrated visionary leadership right from the start to get the district back on a positive track and focused on academic growth and support,” said the Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators.

In a brief statement issued by Shapiro’s transition team, Mumin said he knows what it takes to improve the state’s education system.

“I look forward to working with the governor-elect to fully fund our schools, make our students’ mental health a priority and empower parents and guardians to ensure their children receive a quality education,” Mumin said.

He’ll come to the post at a time when public school funding in Pennsylvania is under long-overdue scrutiny. Public school funding has been found to be among the nation’s most inequitable institution, particularly for districts with heavy populations of Black and Latino students.

Gov. Tom Wolf made fixing this a top issue, and it is the subject of a pending lawsuit in Pennsylvania courts filed by several of the state’s 500 school districts.

In addition to more equitable funding, Shapiro and Mumin have the additional challenge of addressing the significant  setbacks in education that occurred during the pandemic.

(Reprinted

from the Philadelphia Tribune)

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—Although I am loath to refer to it, I am sure that many of you remember the series of films entitled “Girls Gone Wild” and the media craze it created in the 1990s.  For those who don’t remember, GGW was a series of near-pornographic videos direct-marketed to the public as “socially relevant.”  They were, however, misogynistic, exploitative, predatory, and abusive to the young women who were either duped or voluntarily participated in the videos.  Gratefully, the excesses of the videos and the legal and financial excesses of its founder, Joe Francis, led to the demise of GGW —and not a moment too soon!

The lesson I take from this despicable activity, and others like it, is that arrogant, exploitative, self-serving, or other actions designed to benefit a select few usually leave a path of personal or social destruction in their wake. It is also clear that however reprehensible and objectionable information may be, there is always an audience that is eager to consume whatever garbage is tossed their way.  Given the actions and behavioral motivations already demonstrated by the new Republican majority in the House of Representatives, this is the type of future for destructive excesses I envision for the 118th Congress.

The first insult to the American people was the 15-ballot debacle that finally led to the selection of a new Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy. Although he initially had insufficient votes to secure that position, those who would

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.

Commentary

not support him held the business of the People hostage from the inevitable for five days. They squeezed every conceivable concession from McCarthy with him agreeing to the appointment to positions of authority and influence for the most reactionary MAGAgots! Even after admitting on national television that every conceivable concession had been extracted from McCarthy, they squeezed him one last time to demonstrate their power for denying him his coveted position of House Speaker. One of the first resolutions passed by the Republican House was a repeal of funding for additional IRS examiners approved by the 117th Congress under the Inflation Reduction Act. If passed, this resolution would cripple the IRS’s ability to enforce the current tax codes and promote the potential for wealthy tax cheats to evade their fair share in tax payments. The lack of qualified and experienced tax examiners is one of the reasons given for the IRS’s failure to perform a required audit of the former president. This is evidence of Republicans’ continuing efforts to provide advantages to the wealthy and well-connected at the expense of the average citizen.

Since most of McCarthy’s concessions were backroom deals, the scope of his giveaway is known by only a few. We have been made aware of McCarthy giving MAGA-Conservatives more influence, authority, and involvement in determining what bills come to the floor. This suggests a flow of resolutions extreme in their nature and designed to exacerbate division among the populace. We also know that McCarthy is advocating the establishment of a select committee to investigate the weaponization of government agencies (e.g. IRS, FBI, and DOJ). It seems that the only legitimate investigation is one that does not target Republicans or supporters of the former president.

Also among their to-do list is the design to end all COVID mandates and funding, a ‘southern’ border plan (read: stop the colored hordes instead of a comprehensive immigration plan), a commitment to balance the budget in 10 years (threatening Social Security and Medicare/aid), and a single member motion-to-vacate authority (if McCarthy doesn’t follow the guidance of the far-right he can be removed as Speaker).

Hopefully, this madness will never see the light of day. A responsible Senate and a Presidential veto pen will ensure that.

(Dr. E. Faye Williams is President of The Dick Gregory Society (thedickgregorysociety.org; drefayewilliams@gmail.com) and President Emerita of the National Congress of Black Women)

Celebrating Dr. King

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—The celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday generally focuses on his “dream” of an America in which children will “live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

In celebrating King’s dream, we should remember the challenge he put before the country. In many ways, Dr. King saw the civil rights movement as a symphony with three movements.

The first featured the struggle for equal opportunity, for ending segregation and providing equal access to schools, jobs, housing, health care, finance and more. This was a battle waged at lunch counters, in bus boycotts, in the courts and in the streets. The second movement—one that suffered some of the worst murders and beatings—was the fight for the right to vote. It was waged in dangerous voter registration efforts, like that which witnessed the Freedom Summer murders of Goodman, Schwerner and Chaney near Philadelphia, Mississippi. And in marches and demonstrations like the march over the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, that was met with a police riot. It culminated in the passage of the Voting Rights Act, after Lyndon Johnson pledged that “we shall overcome.”

The third movement, which King knew would be the most difficult, was the push for equality, for basic human rights for all people. “What good is the right to sit at a lunch counter,” Dr. King asked, “if you can’t afford to buy a hamburger.”

Equal justice required the eradica-

Commentary

tion of poverty for people of all races, a transformation of a system that has left us, as Dr. King wrote, with “a gap of superfluous wealth and abject poverty,” and has “created conditions permitting necessities to be taken from the many to give luxuries to the few.”

Economic and racial equality, Dr. King understood, could not be achieved unless America curbed its growing and costly military adventures. So, Dr. King courageously spoke out against the Vietnam War, warning that the war on poverty was being lost in the jungles of Southeast Asia.

On his final birthday, Dr. King worked on putting together a Poor People’s Campaign, a multiracial coalition of working and poor people to march on Washington to demand equal justice.

He understood that justice required fundamental reforms—the right to a job or a guaranteed income, a living wage, universal health care, the right to affordable housing, equal access to the courts. His assassination took him from us when his leadership was most needed.

The civil rights movement transformed America and helped to further its ideals. We have come a long way.

But Dr. King surely would be dismayed by how far we have yet to go. Today, legal segregation of schools has ended, but our schools are more segregated than ever. The right to vote has been extended, but conservative judges have gutted the Voting Rights Act, and voter suppression, partisan gerrymandering and dark money undermine our democracy. Inequality has reached new and obscene extremes. America has been enmeshed in endless wars throughout this century. The Pentagon consumes more than half of the annual spending Congress votes on. Gun violence, mass incarceration and police brutality still rob too many of life and liberty. Now catastrophic climate change poses a rising and deadly threat.

Lasting change is hard. Every reconstruction gets met with a reaction. Cynical politicians stoke racial and national fears. Economic insecurities make us more likely to turn on each other than to each other. Dr. King’s example calls upon us not to adjust to these realities nor to accept them, but to act boldly to change them. “There is no gain without struggle,” he taught. Dr. King held no public office, he amassed no personal fortune, he commanded no military forces – yet he led a movement that transformed the country. Politicians, he understood, adjust to prevailing winds. It is people in motion that generate the wind and set the direction. True leaders do not echo popular opinion, they mold opinion. Let us celebrate his birthday by following his example and mobilizing to fulfill the dream.

Disposing of division, not people and places

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—As an organizer who’s spent much of my life fighting for civil rights and access to the ballot box, I reflect on the work and words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. often, not just around the federal holiday for his birthday.

Lately I’ve been thinking about a speech he gave in 1967 less than nine months before he was assassinated in which he expounded on racism, excessive materialism, and militarism—what he called “a triple prong sickness that has been lurking within our body politic from its very beginning.”

Ben Jealous

be less than a tenth of what will be spent by the Defense Department.

Palm Office Manager

Rod Doss Editor & Publisher Stephan A. Broadus Assistant to the Publisher

Ashley Johnson Sales Director Rob Taylor Jr. Managing Editor John. H. Sengstacke

In describing how those three evils crush opportunity for people in this country and abroad, Dr. King exposed the destructive ideas that have subsidized the American Experiment —that groups of people were disposable and that our wilderness was just as disposable. As a nation, we’re still dealing with the cost of that destruction of people and of forests, rivers, and air that was accepted for most of our history.

What we call the environmental movement today was just emerging in 1967 (the first Earth Day was still three years away). It’s not hard to imagine Dr. King would mention the threat to a livable planet if he spoke today, perhaps substituting the climate crisis for the existential threat of nuclear war.

We shouldn’t be surprised that poor communities are poisoned communities. Dr. King identified the roots as structural, not simply ill will, saying that “for the good of America, it is necessary to refute the idea that the dominant ideology in our country, even today, is freedom and equality while racism is just an occasional departure from the norm.”

It’s time we act on that idea and that we discard that flawed either/ or idea that prosperity for some demands poverty for others meant to divide poor and working-class people since colonial times. Poverty is what drives environmental destruction. But we can both create more jobs for people who have been starved for jobs and save the planet.  Clean technology can sustain a clean economy that leaves no one out. The federal government has made a once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure and jobs that has environmental repair and renewal at its core. Dr. King, no doubt, would point out that even at its historic level, that spending over the next decade will

He also gave us a clear warning in his speech that the fight for what’s right doesn’t end with a budget appropriation: “Even when the people persist and in the face of great obstacles, develop indigenous leadership and self-help approaches to their problems and finally tread the forest of bureaucracy to obtain existing government funds, the corrupt political order seeks to crush even this beginning of hope.” In every state, county, and community we must prepare to stand firm together against those self-interested few who surely will work to undercut efforts to move away from fossil fuels and will defend practices that destroy our wild places.

The health of the planet will determine our shared fate, the “inescapable network of mutuality” Dr. King described writing years earlier from the Birmingham jail. What affects some directly affects all of us—no one, no place is disposable. We have the chance now to mend the fraying and tears in that “single garment of destiny” he wrote of. Let’s join together to be good tailors.

(Ben Jealous is incoming executive director of the Sierra Club, America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization; former national president of the NAACP; and professor of practice at the University of Pennsylvania.)

Allison

Jesse Jackson Sr.

Commentary

Martin Luther King or Robert E. Lee

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—Since 1983, the third Monday in January represents the day in which the life of Dr. Martin Luther King is celebrated with a federal holiday. For southerners, devotion to their Confederate heritage remains deep and long lasting. As a result, several states added the celebration of Confederate Army general Robert E. Lee to the same day as the King Holiday. While states such as Virginia, North Carolina and Arkansas eventually removed the joint celebration, Alabama and Mississippi still honors Lee with King. Both men are considered to be American icons, but for opposing reasons.

The joint celebration is truly a contradiction of ideology. Would a person who admires Robert E. Lee and what he stood for as a Confederate also be an admirer of Martin Luther King and what he stood for as a civil rights leader? In many ways, the South has never gotten over the Civil War. Robert E. Lee will always be a timeless hero throughout the South despite leading an army that conducted “slave hunts” of free Black Americans. Despite being a slave owner who ordered his slaves whipped and families separated. Despite leading a Confederate army that slaughtered Black Union soldiers while attempting to surrender. After the war, he continued to fight against efforts to give Black Americans their rights as citizens.

Does NFL violence disproportionally affect Black men?

On Jan. 2, 2023, Damar Hamlin, a Buffalo Bills defensive back, made a tackle, got up, then collapsed from a cardiac arrest. Hamlin was rushed to the hospital, and the Monday Night Football game was suspended.

A recent article in Scientific America by Duke University professor Tracie Canada was subtitled: The “terrifyingly ordinary” nature of football’s violence disproportionately affects Black men. In response to Canada, Super Bowl-winning coach Tony Dungy tweeted, “As a Black man and former NFL player, I can say this article is absolutely ridiculous.”

It’s important to note that Canada’s bio states she uses sports to theorize race and examine racial disparities.

Canada wrote, “This ordinary violence has always riddled the sport and it affects all players. But Black players are disproportionately affected. While Black men are severely underrepresented in positions of power across football organizations, such as coaching and management, they are overrepresented on the gridiron. NonWhite players account for 70 percent of the NFL … [and] ... through a process of racial stacking, coaches racially segregate athletes by position. These demographic discrepancies place Black athletes at a higher risk during play.”

J. Pharoah Doss Check It Out

Black Americans in any given area doesn’t match 13 percent of the Black population, then Black Americans are either overrepresented or underrepresented.

For example, Black Americans make up 13 percent of the population but 40 percent of the prison population. This is an overrepresentation. Black Americans make up 13 percent of the population but only 1 percent of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. This is an underrepresentation.

According to racial theorists, the gaps between 13 percent and 40 percent and 1 percent and 13 percent are racial disparities. The problem is that racial theorists claim these gaps are proof of racism.

large racial disparity, and racial theorists like Canada would write a headline that states: Lightning Disproportionately Targets Black Men.

With that said, here’s the real problem with Canada’s NFL article.

She stated that non-White players make up 70 percent of NFL players, which indicates that Black players are the majority. The chances are extremely high that most injuries will happen to people in the majority group, so there is no disproportional effect.

But Canada uses sports to theorize race, and she wrote that Black players are overrepresented on the gridiron. That means she used the “general population formula,” which states Black people are 13 percent of the population but make up 70 percent of the NFL players. By using the “general population formula,” the percentage of Black injuries instantly becomes a racial disparity, which Canada used as proof of the NFL’s racism.

Now, to a person who doesn’t understand how racial disparities are generated, it appears that Canada has a point. But a person familiar with the “general population formula,” understands that racial disparities are only used to make accusations of racism.

These gaps aren’t proof of racism because the “general population formula” doesn’t accurately reflect the real world. Here’s a simple illustration of how the “general population formula” doesn’t match reality, but racial theorists can still use the result to make accusations of racism.

David W. Marshall

Commentary

While Lee continues to be seen as a Confederate leader worthy of appreciation, does it matter to southerners that he was indicted by a grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia for treason? The grand jury charged him with “wickedly, maliciously, and traitorously” carrying on a war against the Constitution and the “peace and dignity” of the United States of America. During the Civil War era, a Confederate was a person who saw themselves as a southerner first. Their allegiance was to their states over the federal authority of the United States government.

This deep loyalty to the beloved South became a major part of the southern identity and culture which is still embraced today. It would not be wrong to question the American patriotism of someone who still embraces Confederate figure and beliefs. Especially as we are currently witnessing the reemergence of White nationalism in addition to challenges to constitutional and ethical norms. All parts of the southern culture and customs are not bad, but we can never forget that the institution of slavery was the greatest influence to the southern beliefs and way of life. From slavery came the economy of cheap labor, racial hatred, disregard for humanity, distrust of outsiders, Christian hypocrisy and White supremacy. Each one became embedded in the unique culture of the South, and remained part of the southern identity long after slavery was ended.

As a pastor, Dr. Martin Luther King at times spoke about his disappointment with the White church. When he took on a leadership role during the civil rights movement, he felt White ministers, priests and rabbis of the South would be their strongest allies. Instead, some were outright opponents refusing to understand and support the freedom movement concerning people of color. It seems hypocritical for the region of the nation which were former slaves and Jim Crow states to refer to itself as the Bible Belt. When people from Bible Belt states consistently choose Jim Crow over the teachings of Jesus Christ, we would not be wrong in questioning their Christianity.

The ideas of “love your neighbor as you love yourself” or “treat others the way you want to be treated” often gets lost in a culture and customs deeply rooted in the economy of cheap labor, racial hatred, disregard for humanity, distrust of outsiders, Christian hypocrisy and White supremacy. Since a large amount of the South’s population consists of Black citizens, is the Bible Belt description for the South inclusive of Black Christians and their interests or is it primarily referencing socially conservative Protestants?

In a Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study, nearly eight-in-ten Black Americans (79 percent) identify as Christian. By comparison, seven-in-ten Americans overall (71 percent) say they are Christian, including 70 percent of Whites and 77 percent of Latinos. Meanwhile, about seven-in-ten Blacks are Protestant, compared with less than half the public overall (47 percent), including 48 percent of Whites. Is the cultural meaning behind the term “Bible Belt” a true description of the South in a racial, moral and spiritual sense? For those still celebrating Confederate heroes, Robert E. Lee is the leader dear to their hearts, but history has proven Martin Luther King was the true American and one who led with love, compassion and faith.

(David W. Marshall is the founder of the faithbased organization, TRB: The Reconciled Body, and author of the book God Bless Our Divided America. He can be reached at www.davidwmarshallauthor.com.)

The “general population formula” takes the Black population in the United States, which is 13 percent, and compares it to the actual percentage of Black Americans in any given area. If the percentage of

Two men are struck by lightning; one is White and the other is Black. The “general population formula” will state Black Americans make up 13 percent of the population, but they account for 50 percent of lightning strikes. Even though there were only two people in the example, the “general population formula” still produced a

Canada actually admitted, “I know it’s not new to highlight the inherent violence of American football.” Then she got to the only point she wanted to make, “These situations [Hamlin’s injury] demonstrate how organizations, administrators, and fans dismiss each player’s personhood, strip them of their humanity, and reduce them to mere bodies [and] to dismiss the almost certain breaking down of their bodies as just part of the game is a process of objectification and commodification that prioritizes the player over the person in a way that … calls to mind the history of slavery and the plantation economy.”

Canada used Damar Hamlin’s situation to compare the NFL to chattel slavery.

This is an accusation that has lost its shock value, and racial theorists who continue to make it are ridiculous.

The ‘bad, brilliant brother from Brooklyn’

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—“America needs political leadership that can inspire disparate constituencies and star-crossed communities to coalesce around ideas, issues and goals that transcend party loyalty … Hakeem Jeffries cannot, of course, be expected to embody this leadership on his own. But it is a testament to the national character, and the grace at times embedded within it, that the voice of the first Black leader of the Democratic minority in Congress will be seated at the head of the table as we deliberate on the future of our ongoing democratic experiment.”—Peniel E. Joseph Of the 15 ballots it took for Kevin McCarthy finally to be elected Speaker of the House last week, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries won more votes than McCarthy in 11 of them.

But a speaker must be elected with a majority of votes cast, not just a plurality. With every member of the House voting, the threshold for election was 218. By the 14th vote, McCarthy had persuaded 13 holdouts to shift their votes to him, but it was only after six members agreed to vote “present”—thereby lowering the threshold to 216—that he finally ascended to the speakership.

By contrast, each and every member of the minority party voted for Jeffries on each and every ballot—except for the 12th.  On the fourth day of voting, Rep. David Trone of Maryland missed the first ballot of the day because he was undergoing surgery.  By early afternoon, he was back on the House floor to cast his vote for Jeffries in the 13th ballot.

Marc H. Morial

To Be Equal

When Jeffries was elected minority leader in November, he became the first Black leader of any caucus in Congress, House or Senate. Last week, he became the first Black nominee for Speaker of the House. His colleagues recognized the significance as they cast their votes.

“And still I rise, and I proudly cast my vote on behalf of the enslaved people who built this Capitol. I cast my vote for the honorable Hakeem Jeffries,” Rep. Al Green of Texas, declared.

With a nod to her predecessor, the late civil rights icon John Lewis, Rep. Nikema Williams cast her vote for Jeffries “in the spirit of good trouble.”

And fellow New Yorker, Rep. Yvette Clark joyfully cast her vote for “the bad, brilliant brother from Brooklyn.”

Jeffries is the highest-raking non-White member of the most racially and ethnically diverse Congress in history, the seventh Congress to break the record set by the one before it.  At 52, he is the first member of Generation X to lead the House Democratic Caucus.

Jeffries, elected to Congress in 2012, had long been seen as a rising star in his party. He made history as youngest member to serve in leadership when he became chairman of the Democratic caucus in 2019.  His national profile rose in 2020 when the House impeached Donald Trump for a second time and he served as an impeachment manager.  Signifying the cultural and generational shift he has come to represent, he concluded his impeachment presentation by quoting  fellow Brooklynite and Gen-Xer, Biggie Smalls: “And if you don’t know, now you know.”

Throughout his career in public service, Jeffries has been a tireless advocate for communities of color, committed to eliminating the barriers to equity. The National Urban League was proud to work closely with him to develop and enact sweeping prison reform legislation, the FIRST STEP Act.  In 2014, he pushed for a national ban on chokeholds after the death of Eric Garner. He is a co-sponsor of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, which passed the House but stalled in the Senate.

His passion for justice is matched by his eloquence, most recently on display in the instantly-viral “ABCs of American Values” speech he delivered just before he handed McCarthy the speaker’s gavel, symbolizing the peaceful transfer of power.

As the new House majority embarks on a divisive agenda of amplifying conspiracy theories, vilifying honorable public servants, eliminating reproductive rights, Jeffries’ steady, thoughtful leadership will provide a much-needed counterpoint.

A magic made by many

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—For many of us, the Martin Luther King holiday every year brings memories of Dr. King’s great speeches and the incredible power of his words. Dr. King was a master orator who gave many inspiring speeches throughout his career. Lots of Black kids—myself included—grew up mesmerized by the majesty of the “I Have a Dream” speech, wishing we could one day speak that well.

As a youngster, especially one who struggled with a speech impediment, I thought great speeches were magic.

I still do. Except now I see that magic isn’t made in a vacuum.

Maybe you’ve heard a great speech given in an empty room; I know I have. No matter how wonderful the words, the impact will be small. In contrast, I look at the old photos of Dr. King’s speeches and there is a sea of upturned faces, many Black, some White: older people, young folks, men and women.

I think about these moments and I am struck not just by the power of Dr. King, but by the enormous commitment of the people behind the scenes: activists, organizers, and volunteers.

Those working behind the scenes enabled the people of Montgomery, Alabama to hear Dr. King promise that the arc of the moral universe does indeed bend toward justice. They enabled hundreds of thousands in Washington, and even more

Svante Myrick Commentary

around the country, to hear his immortal “I Have a Dream” speech. And in Memphis, they enabled thousands of striking sanitation workers and their allies hear Dr. King the day before he was murdered, when he spoke of having been “to the mountaintop” and gave hope for a better future.

I feel deep gratitude for the hundreds, even thousands of people who played “supporting” roles throughout Dr. King’s life, the people who passed out flyers, who offered rides, who brought friends and neighbors to listen when he spoke. And of course, there is gratitude beyond words for all those who marched, who faced police brutality and fought segregation. Because of them, Dr. King was able to change the world.

There’s a lesson in that for all of us. If you say to yourself, “I could never give the kind of speech Dr. King could give, so there isn’t much I can do to change hearts and minds,” then you are half right – and half wrong.

It’s true that Dr. King’s talents were rare. But he didn’t move mountains alone; nobody can. The lesson we should learn when we commemorate the life of Dr. King is how vital each of us can be, together and separately, in changing the world.

“We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality,” Dr. King wrote, “tied in a single garment of destiny.” To me, his characteristically beautiful words mean that history is not made by a parade of individual heroes, stretching single-file through the centuries; it is made collectively, by the many.

In everyday terms, it means that the person who sets up the chairs or plugs in the microphones for an event is as important to its success as the speaker onstage. Each of us has a part to play and a gift to give.

And each of us has a responsibility to act. Too often there is a temptation to wait for the next hero to come along to “save” us, which can lead to doing nothing. That’s a downside of believing, falsely, that heroes can act alone.

So yes, we honor Dr. King for his incredible life. And we should also honor him by committing to serve our communities and work for change in any way we are able. That’s how we make magic.

(Svante Myrick is President of People For the American Way.)

TOWNSHIP OF WILKINS

NOTICE OF INTRODUCTION OF PROPOSED CODE ADOPTION ORDINANCE

Please take notice that a proposed Code Adoption Ordinance was introduced by the Board of Commissioners of the Township of Wilkins at a regular meeting of the Board of Commissioners held on the 9th day of January, 2023. A copy of the proposed Code Adoption Ordinance and the Code may be examined in the office of the Township Manager. A summary of the proposed Code Adoption Ordinance of the proposed codification is as follows:

Ordinance No.: 1111

AN ORDINANCE TO APPROVE, ADOPT AND ENACT AN ORDINANCE CODIFICATION FOR THE TOWNSHIP OF WILKINS, COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY, COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA; TO PROVIDE FOR THE REPEAL OF CERTAIN LEGISLATION NOT INCLUDED THEREIN; TO SAVE FROM REPEAL CERTAIN OTHER LEGISLATION NOT INCLUDED THEREIN; AND TO PROVIDE PENALTIES FOR TAMPERING WITH THE CODE.

This proposed ordinance provides:

1) For the approval, adoption and enactment of the codification of a complete body of legislation for the Township of Wilkins, as revised, codified and consolidated into title, chapters and sections, such codificatio n being designated as the “Code of the Township of Wilkins.”

2) That the provisions of the Code are intended as the continuation of legislation in effect immediately prior to the adoption of this ordinance.

3) For the repeal of inconsistent ordinances or parts of ordinances of a general and permanent nature which are not included in the Code, except as specifically saved from repeal.

4) That certain ordinances, rights and obligations be expressly saved from repeal.

5) That ordinances of a general and permanent nature adopted subsequent to preparation of the code but prior to its adoption are deemed part of the Code.

6) For the adoption and ratification of changes and revisions made during preparation of the Code to the previously adopted legislation included therein, and for the inclusion of certain new legislation. Such changes, revisions and new legislation include:

a) Nonsubstantive grammatical and style changes.

b) Nomenclature changes

c) General revision of penalty provisions

d) Removal of specific permit and license fee amounts and authority for such fees to be set by resolution of the Board of Commissioners.

e) Adoption and ratification of other substantive changes and revisions made so as to bring provisions included in the Code into conformity with the policies and intent of the Board of Commissioners. Such changes and revisions are specifically enumerated and described in the ordinance.

7) For the interpretation of provisions.

8) That titles, headings and editor’s notes are inserted for the convenience of persons using the Code and are not part of the legislation.

9) For the filing of at least one copy of the code in the office of the Township Manager where it shall remain for use and examination by the public.

10) For the incorporation of future additions, deletions, amendments or supplements into the Code.

11) That Code books be kept up-to-date under the supervision of the Township Manager.

12) That notice of introduction of the ordinance and Code be published according to law and that enactment of the ordinance, coupled with filing of a copy or copies of the Code and publication of such notice, will be deemed due and legal publication of all provisions of the Code.

13) For penalties for anyone convicted of altering or tampering with the Code.

14) That the provisions of the Code and the ordinance are severable.

15) That the effective date of the Code and of the ordinance be February 27, 2023.

Please take further notice that the Board of Commissioners intends to adopt the proposed Code Adoption Ordinance on February 27, 2023 A copy of the Code Adoption Ordinance proposed for adoption is on file in the office of the Township Manager, Wilkins Township, Pennsylvania, where it is available for public inspection during regular office hours.

PUBLIC NOTICE

ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY

The public meetings to be held by the Board of Directors of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority during the calendar year 2023 will be held at its offices located at 3300 Preble Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15233 on the following Thursdays at 4:30 p.m.:

January 26, 2023

February 23, 2023

March 23, 2023 April 27, 2023 May 18, 2023

June 22, 2023

July 27, 2023

September 28, 2023 October 26, 2023 November 16, 2023 December 14, 2023

The public is invited to attend and participate. Public comment may be submitted by email at public.relations@alcosan.org, by noon on the meeting date. The public may view the meetings via livestream by visiting www.alcosan.org.

ANNOUNCEMENTS Meetings

ANNOUNCEMENTS Meetings

ALLEGHENY COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING

Notice is hereby given that the 2023 annual meeting of the Board of Directors of the Allegheny County Housing Authority will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, January 20, 2023. The meeting will be preceded with a meeting of the Finance and Audit Committee at 9:15 a.m., followed by the Board’s review of the agenda and other general matters at 9:30 a.m. Directly following the Authority’s annual meeting, a joint annual meeting of the Authority’s sub-entities will be conducted.

Notice of Regular Meetings

Notice is hereby given of the regular monthly meetings of the Board of Directors of the Allegheny County Housing Authority for the remainder of calendar year 2023:

February 17, 2023

March 17, 2023

April 21, 2023

May 19, 2023

June 16, 2023

July 21, 2023

September 15, 2023

October 20, 2023

November 17, 2023

December 15, 2023

The regular meetings will be preceded with a meeting of the Finance & Audit Committee at 9:15 a.m., followed by the Board’s review of the agenda and other general matters at 9:30 a.m. The public is invited to attend these meetings. They are held in person in the Authority’s boardroom located on the 2nd floor, 301 Chartiers Avenue, McKees Rocks, PA 15136.

Comments or requests on Board agenda items must be submitted via email at kstohlberg@achsng.com no later than 2 days before a scheduled meeting.

Meetings will be to conduct essential business only and may proceed in a modified manner with attendees participating remotely through electronic means. The Agenda for Board meetings will be posted on the Authority’s website 24 hours before a scheduled meeting. All virtual meetings will be recorded and posted to the Authority’s website for one month following the meeting. The ACHA will continue to post meeting Minutes on its website at http://www.achsng.com/ABOUT/PUBLIC DOCUMENTS

Frank Aggazio, Executive Director Allegheny County Housing Authority

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Public Notice

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

ZONING HEARING BOARD OF THE BOROUGH OF THORNBURG NOTICE is hereby given that on Thursday, February 2, 2023, at 7:00 p.m., the Zoning Hearing Board of the Borough of Thornburg will conduct a public hearing in the auditorium of the Thornburg Community Building, 545 Hamilton Rd., Thornburg, PA, at which time the Board will consider the following matter:

On the request of Gerald Pecora for a variance from the 10’ setback requirement for the construction of an accessory structure on the property located at 1181 Harvard Rd. Mr. Pecora has submitted an application for a variance with a 4’ setback.

The above application may be reviewed by contacting the Borough Secretary (thornburg.secretary@gmail.com or 412-921-3713).

All interested parties are invited to attend and be heard in accordance with the rules and procedures established by the Board. Any unfinished business at the end of this public hearing will be continued to a future meeting date.

Dorothy Falk, Secretary Borough of Thornburg

ANNOUNCEMENTS Meetings

HACP BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MONTHLY MEETING

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh’s Board of Commissioners will hold its monthly Board Meeting on January 26, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. Due to the COVID-19 protective guidelines set forth by federal, state, and local government, the meeting will be held remotely, with public access to be provided online. The HACP will provide a direct link to a livestream of the meeting, and instruction on how to make a public comment. Details will be made available on http:// www.hacp.org, in advance of the meeting.

ALLEGHENY REGIONAL ASSET DISTRICT

2023 RAD Board Meetings will be held at 3PM 2/9, 5/11, 9/26, 11/30 Visit www.radworkshere.org for meeting logistics including public participation procedures.

PUBLIC NOTICE ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY

The Green Committee of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority will hold a special meeting for general purposes on Thursday, January 19, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. prevailing time in the Trefz Board Room at its offices located at 3300 Preble Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15233. Official action on the Committee’s recommendations will take place at a regular meeting of the Board of Directors at a later date. The public may view the meeting via livestream by visiting www.alcosan.org.

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh’s Board of Commissioners passed a resolution on 12/15/22 to hold its 2023 monthly meetings on the following Thursdays in 2023. The meetings will be held via Zoom Teleconferencing at 10:30 AM

2023 HACP Board Meeting Dates: Thursday, January 26, 2023 Thursday, February 23, 2023 Thursday, March 23, 2023 Thursday, April 27, 2023 Thursday, May 25, 2023 Thursday, June 22, 2023 Thursday, July 27, 2023

NO BOARD MEETING IN AUGUST Thursday, September 28, 2023 Thursday, October 26, 2023

NO BOARD MEETING IN NOVEMBER Thursday, December 14, 2023

LEGAL ADVERTISING Legal Notices

Estate of EDWARD J. SMELKO, Deceased of 105 Lilmont Drive, Swissvale,PA 15218, Estate No. 02-22-08096, Paul E. Smelko, Executor,108 Lilmont Drive, Swissvale, PA 15218, William C. Price, Jr., Price & Associates, P.C. 2005 Noble Street, Pittsburgh, PA 1218

Estate of CONSTANCE E. RUSSELL Deceased of 4750 Clairton Blvd, Apt# 136 Pittsburgh PA 15236 , Estate No. 02-2208259, Deborah L. Watkins, Executor, 11305 Althea Rd, Pittsburgh PA 15235,

Estate of GLORIA J. MEINERT, Deceased of McCandless Township, Pennsylvania ,Estate No. 02-22-08151, Keith M. Meinert, Executor, 10235 Meinert Road, Wexford, PA 15090 or to ROBIN L. RARIE, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC. 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017

Estate of AGNES MELLINGER, Deceased Clairton , No. 8228 of 2022, . Linda M. Fitzpatrick-Podroskey, Petitioner, has filed a Petition to Determine Title to Real Estate at 626 N. 6th St., Clairton, PA 15025, pursuant to 20 PA § 3546, John R. Axtell, Peter B. Lewis, and Neighborhood Legal Services, 928 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15222, Counsel.

In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny, Orphan’s Court Division, Estate of HILDA T. RALICKI, deceased, Case No. 022207854: Petition for Determination of Title filed December 8, 2022 on behalf of Jeanne T. Six to terminate the interests of the heirs and devisees of Hilda T. Ralicki in 116 Beckert St, Pittsburgh, PA 15209. Peter B. Lewis, Attorney, 928 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, (412) 5866153.

LEGAL ADVERTISING Bids/Proposals

INVITATION TO BID

Sealed bids for additional parking lot and parent drop off at Rochester Area School District, as specified in RFP, will be received by the Superintendent at 540 Reno Street, Rochester, PA 15074, until 2:00 PM on Friday, February 10, 2023 Bids will be opened publicly and read aloud at the same time.

RFP specifications may be obtained from: Lou Campisi, Director of Buildings & Grounds ROCHESTER AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT 540 Reno Street Rochester, PA (724) 775-7500, ext 1813

A mandatory pre-bid meeting must be made with the Director of Buildings and Grounds prior to bid submission. The District reserves the right to reject any or all bids and to waive any irregularities therein.

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATION FOR CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SERVICES

As part of the BrashearCARES

Hilltop Community Center, The Brashear Association, Inc. “Brashear” is seeking qualifications from firms interested in being selected as an at-risk construction manager for a new ~20,000 SF commercial building that will feature a market, café, and other community-oriented space. The project is in the City of Pittsburgh in the 300 block of Brownsville Road. The scope of services includes pre-construction, estimating, bidding, RACP compliance, and construction oversight and management.

The RFQ can be received by emailing management@brashearassociation. org Proposals will be accepted electronically until February 6, 2023 at 4pm.

Brashear reserves the right to reject any and all proposals.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING CONSULTANT

The Brashear Association, Inc. (“Brashear”) is soliciting proposals for the development of a 3-year strategic plan. The Request for Proposals can be received by emailing management@ brashearassociation.org Letters of intent are due by 1/31/23 and full proposals are due by 2/21/23 at 5pm

Brashear reserves the right to reject any and all proposals.

OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION of the SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH

Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance Lobby, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on February 7, 2023, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for:

Various Buildings Water Cooler Replacement Phase 6 Plumbing and Electrical Primes

Various Buildings Carbon Monoxide Detectors Phase V

Mechanical and Electrical Primes

Pgh. Schiller 6-8 Finish Floor Replacement and Miscellaneous Work (REBID) General Primes ONLY

Pgh. Student Achievement Center Elevator Construction & Renovations (REBID) Electrical Primes ONLY

Pgh. Carmalt PreK-8 Window Replacement and Envelope Repair (REBID) Electrical Primes ONLY

Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on January 16, 2022, at Modern Reproductions (412-488-7700), 127 McKean Street, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15219 between 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. The cost of the Project Manual Documents is non-refundable. Project details and dates are described in each project manual.

OFFICIAL BID NOTICE

TOWNSHIP OF UPPER ST. CLAIR

Sealed and separate bids will be received by the Township of Upper St. Clair, 1820 McLaughlin Run Road, Upper St. Clair, PA 15241, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania until 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, February 14, 2023 and the BIDS will be publicly opened and read thereafter in the Lower Level Training Room in the Township Building at the same address for the following:

Matthew

ADVERTISEMENT

Due date: 2:00 P.M. Prevailing Time on Thursday, February 9, 2023

Any bid or proposals received after this deadline will be considered as a “late bid” and will be returned unopened to the offerer.

Proposals may require Bid Bonds, Performance Bonds, Payment Bonds, and Surety as dictated by the specifications.

No bidder may withdraw his bid or proposal for a period of ninety (90) days after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids.

The Board of Trustees reserves the right to reject any and all bids.

The Community College of Allegheny County is an Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and encourages bids from Minority/ Disadvantaged owned businesses. For more information, contact Michael Cvetic at mcvetic@ccac.edu.

IFB NO. 2023-39-General Construction ALLIES & ROSS MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION will accept sealed bids for the installation of an underground water storage tank for the Northview Midrise. The construction work is estimated to begin in August 2023. The estimated value of the project ranges from: $455,240.17 - $640,402.62 Bid Documents will be available on or about Tuesday, January 17, 2023 and may be obtained from the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh’s webpage, www.hacp.org. Bidders may register on the website and download the bid documents free of charge. A Virtual Pre-Bid Conference will be held on Thursday, January 26, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. virtually at the following link: Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89001884938?pwd=eGgrZHNwalRiOT RxeWdFREU5K2l2QT09

Meeting ID: 890 0188 4938 Passcode: 181374 One tap mobile +13017158592,,89001884938#,,,,*181374# US (Washington DC)

Bids will be received at: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) Procurement Department 100 Ross Street, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Attn: Kim Detrick, Director of Procurement until 9:00 a.m. Thursday, February 9, 2023 at which time and place all bids will be received.

Bids will be received at:

Allies & Ross Management and Development Corporation will only be accepting physical proposals dropped off in person from 8:00 AM until the closing of 9:00 AM on February 9, 2023 at the HACP Procurement Department, 100 Ross Street, Suite 200, Pittsburgh PA 15219 Attn: Kim Detrick, Chief Procurement Officer. Due to COVID, the bid opening on February 9, 2023 at 9:00AM will be conducted virtually via Zoom Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87935697074?pwd=TE0ySUx 2QWxOa0FMeXVzZ1lRN0hKUT09. Meeting ID: 879 3569 7074; Passcode: 160945 Copies of bid documents are not available for in person pickup. Bid Documents, including the Bid Forms, Project Manual, and Drawings, may be obtained from the Business Opportunities Section of the HACP website, www.hacp.org. Prospective Bidders may register as a vendor on the website and download the documents free of charge.

Allies & Ross Management and Development Corporation will only be accepting physical proposals dropped off in person on February 9, 2023 from 8:00 AM until the closing of 9:00 AM on February 9, 2023. Bids may still be submitted electronically at the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/request/wWhVn8RP8Nr4rcHgzXOL and can still be mailed via USPS at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

ALLIES & ROSS MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION reserves the right to waive any informality in, or reject any and all bids. No bid shall be withdrawn for a period of sixty (60) days subsequent to the opening of bids without the consent of ALLIES & ROSS MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

The Contractor will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity requirements for Federally Assisted Construction Contracts. The Contractor must ensure that employees and applicants for employment are not discriminated against because of race, color, religion, sexual preference, handicap or national origin.

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh has revised its website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFP documentation.

ALLIES & ROSS MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AND THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH STRONGLY ENCOURAGES CERTIFIED MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES AND WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES TO RESPOND TO THE SOLICITATION.

Additional information may be obtained by contacting Kim Detrick, Director of Procurement at (412) 456-5116 Opt 1.

Caster D. Binion, President & CEO

ALLIES & ROSS MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

Allies & Ross Management and Development Corporation conducts business in accordance with all federal, state, and local civil rights laws, including but not limited to Title VII, the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, The PA Human Relations Act, etc. and does not discriminate against any individuals protected by these statutes.

TRANSIT SCHEDULER

Pittsburgh Regional Transit is seeking a Transit Scheduler to support the development and production of efficient operating schedules, production and dissemination of timetables and designing of service to meet the needs of Pittsburgh Regional Transit and the public. Coordinates activities with division personnel. Assists with community outreach to support service planning initiatives. Accomplishes activities that support the department’s and organization’s Long-Range, Strategic, and Tactical Plans.

Essential Functions:

• Uses HASTUS to develop cost-efficient operation scenarios to support service change recommendations.

Supports transit scheduling, routing design and service change activities. Reviews, evaluates, and makes schedule changes to ensure service and schedules are effective and efficient. Responsible for cost effective scheduling of service which includes ensuring the schedules are within budget. Supports activities related to Pittsburgh Regional Transit’s ongoing plans and programs.

• Performs the trip building, blocking, run cutting, and other transit scheduling related activities to produce an efficient, effective, and equitable service plan. Develops, prepares and disseminates operating schedules in accordance with provisions of contract agreement; supervises implementation of schedule changes.

Accomplishes the production and distribution of picking materials. Oversees the design, production and distribution of public timetables and other customer information materials related to service.

Job requirements include:

• Two (2) years of Scheduling, Planning, Transit Operations, Business, or directly related work.

• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail.

• Strong work ethic with ability to multi-task.

• Strong decision-making and innovative problem-solving skills

• Strong organizational and analytical skills are essential. The ability to gather data and prepare clear and concise reports, to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others and to work independently.

• Demonstrates considerable initiative.

• Proactive and achievement driven.

• Excellent collaboration skills with both internal and external clients.

• Knowledge of research and statistical theories and methods.

• Ability to work independently and in a team environment.

• Ability to prioritize multiple complex projects.

• Knowledge and familiarity with computer systems and database applications.

• Demonstrated ability in the use of Windows and Microsoft Word and Excel.

• Valid PA driver’s license must be obtained within 90 days of starting the position.

Preferred attributes:

• Knowledge in transit scheduling software preferably HASTUS or other transit scheduling software is highly desirable.

• Knowledge of trip building, blocking, and run cutting.

CONTRACT SPECIALIST –PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

Pittsburgh Regional Transit is seeking a Contract Specialist –Professional Services to actively strategize and facilitate the development of Requests for Proposals (RFP) Provide end user department with services, guidance, coordination and consultation to identify procurement objectives and methodologies based upon policy and procedures to secure professional service agreements and provide contract administration support for such agreements. To assist Pittsburgh Regional Transit in preparing for and responding to various State, Local, and Federal Audits. Provide support to the Manager of Contract Administration – Professional Services.

*Please note that this is a hybrid position.

Essential Functions:

Oversees, implement, and prepares RFP solicitations according to procedures mandated by the State, Federal Transit Administration (FTA), or other agencies; including, but not limited to:

• Coordinates the internal review process for the routing and approval of RFPs and contracts

• Schedule, coordinate, and conducts pre-proposal meetings; prepares and distributes records of pre-proposal meetings to interested parties.

• Facilitating the receipt of RFP questions, review, and prepare responses to requests for clarification.

• Budget coordination, boilerplate development, scope of work development and RFP preparation.

• Performing as the Port Authority’s designated contact for the proposal solicitation process.

• Directing the activities of the Evaluation Committees and the RFP Evaluation process.

Job requirements include:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration or related field from an accredited school. Contract Administration experience may be substituted for the education on a year-for-year basis.

• Minimum of five (5) years’ contract administration experience procuring capital and non-capital contracts including preparing request for proposals, bid documents, negotiations, administering awards, contracts and preparing requisitions.

• Experience utilizing a Purchasing/ Inventory software system with regard to purchase orders and bid processes.

• Excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills with the ability to work well in a team environment.

• Strong organizational, time management, multi-tasking capacities, detail oriented with accurate mathematical calculations, and the ability to work with minimum supervision.

• Demonstrated ability in the use of Microsoft Windows, Word and Excel. Superior ability to work with technology.

Preferred attributes:

• BA/BS degree in contract management or procurement field from an accredited school.

• Electronic procurement experience in PeopleSoft / Oracle.

• Contract management or related certification.

• Valid PA driver’s license.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Pittsburgh Regional Transit is seeking a Telecommunications Specialist to process incoming telephone and radio calls, dispatching the appropriate police, fire, and emergency medical services units, as needed. To monitor activities throughout Port Authority subway stations ensuring the safety of employees, property, and the general public.

Essential Functions:

• Observe monitors throughout the subway stations ensuring that no unusual or threatening acts are taking place against Port Authority employees, property, and the general public.

• Process incoming calls from the public via emergency and non-emergency telephone lines.

• Make response decisions regarding police, fire, and emergency medical services, dispatching appropriate agency.

• Follow proper procedures and techniques in communicating with transit/local police, emergency medical services, and fire departments.

• Answer the emergency patron phones located in the subway, as required.

Job requirements include:

• High School Diploma or GED.

• Minimum of one (1) year experience within the emergency response/security services field.

• Professional and effective communication skills.

• Obtain and maintain CLEAN (Commonwealth Law Enforcement Assistance Network) certification within 90 working days.

• Must be willing to successfully complete the course required for APCO Certification (basic telecommunications training) and other courses, as assigned by supervisor.

• Demonstrated ability in the use of Windows.

• Must be able to work extended shifts, as needed.

• This is a Safety-Sensitive position subject to all testing provisions under the Drug and Alcohol Policy, including random drug and alcohol testing. The person selected for this position may be required to be tested prior to being awarded the job.

YOUTH PROGRAM MANAGER AT VENTURE OUTDOORS

ENRICHMENT TECHNICIAN:

The Citizen Science Lab (TCSL) is a non-profit hands-on laboratory where inquisitive minds and science enthusiasts can explore the life sciences.

DUTIES: Facilitate science and STEM themed education programming in school and out-of-school-time settings. Part Time, during school yearAdditional hours during summer months. Position will require some weekend and evening work throughout the year.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:

SOUTH FAYETTE TWP. SCHOOL DISTRICT is seeking an INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER, LIFE SKILLS, AUTISTIC AND LEARNING SUPPORT

Complete job description and directions on how to apply are available at: www.southfayette.org Applications must be received by 4:00 PM January 19, 2023

Relevant experience in youth enrichment and/or STEM education including informal settings such as after school programs or summer camps.

Currently enrolled or completed study in an institute of higher learning in one or more of the following fields: Biology, Chemistry, Robotics, Engineering (Electrical, Mechanical), Biotechnology, Drone Technology, Fabrication (3D printing, CAD design), Physics or Environmental Sustainability

PAY: $15 / HOUR INTERESTED PARTIES MAY FORWARD A RESUME TO rozrfreeman@hotmail.com.

ENGINEERING AND SOFTWARE ENG II

Aurora Innovation, Inc. seeks positions in Pittsburgh, PA Software Eng II to develop and improve tools to measure offline performance of AV and sub systems. Ref# 00285. Software Eng I to analyze, classify and diagnose online events from the operation of self-driving cars. Ref# 00292. Email resumes to Mary Ellen Mahoney at jobs@ aurora.tech using ref#.

Amy Giammanco Employment

America’s Best Weekly 315 East Carson Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Classifieds 412-481-8302 Ext. 134 E-mail: ads@newpittsburghcourier.com Deadline/Closing/Cancellation Schedule for copy, corrections, and cancellations: Friday noon preceding Wednesday publication

SPECIALIST