Riverside Center for Innovations transforming businesses for success
America’s best weekly
Girls with pearls say Happy Birthday FLOTUS
Review…ʼRide Along 2:ʼ Marginally disappointing
Business C1
Lifestyles B1
Entertainer B4
www.newpittsburghcourier.com
Pittsburgh Courier NEW
VOL. 107, NO. 4
Published Weekly
Three Sections
$1.00
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
Woman killed outside of Homewood bar for rejecting man’s advances
Penn Plaza residents running out of time to relocate by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer
In September, when the owners of the Penn Plaza apartments agreed to assist in relocating tenants from the two buildings, the Feb. 28 deadline for the first group seemed a long way off. But it wasn’t long enough. Even with assistance from the owners and additional funds and resources committed by the Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority, residents in about 30 of the units have, as yet, been unable to find new apartments. The issue arose in July, when building owner Pennley Park South, a subsidiary of Downtownbased LG Realty Advisors Inc., sent 90-day eviction notices to more than 200 residents of two Penn Plaza Apartment building on Penn Avenue in East Liberty. The company is planning to redevelop the two-building complex as a mix of residential and retail space. SEE PENN A4
City seeks funds for Middle Hill development
Staggering disparity
GRANDMOTHER GREAVES—Carol Speaks holds a photo of her grandson Antwann Smith, who, at 19 years old, was shot and killed in 2013. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)
In Pittsburgh, neighborhood violence lives next door to White prosperity by Jeffrey Benzing For New Pittsburgh Courier
(Public Source)—The street where Carol Speaks grew up is only blocks from where her grandson Antwann died. At 19 years old, he was shot 17 times, according to Carol, in front of witnesses just down the street from Homewood’s Westinghouse Academy. It used to be a nice place, she says, walking past boarded-up windows, pointing out where neighbors used to live and looking for bullet holes. These are from September, she said, and were made during the second anniversary of her grandson’s death. Shooters advanced down the block, firing at a vigil where bystanders, including her 12-year-old niece and a 3-year-old boy, were struck by gunfire. From here, it’s a short walk to Hamilton Avenue where Carol’s son, Charles “Squeak” Speaks, then 37, was murdered in
2010. There are dozens of other murder scenes in Homewood, and with every shooting she hears about, she recalls the helplessness she felt waiting for the coroner to come for her son. “It takes me back to that. Over and over and over,” she said. The violence is walking distance to some of Pittsburgh’s most affluent neighborhoods, like Point Breeze and Shady Side, and to luxury apartments going up at Bakery Square. “You want to say what part of that is for me?” Carol asked of the redevelopment, keenly aware of the racial divides in the city and how that quickly changing community seems indifferent to the tragedies in her part of town. Staggering disparity Pittsburgh is often called a “most livable city.” The Economist magazine gave that accoSEE VIOLENCE A5
by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer
In 2000, the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh used eminent domain to seize or purchase hundreds of properties covering 34 blocks in the middle Hill District as part development project it called the “Bedford Plan.” It was supposed to use $17.5 million in public funds to create more than 600 units of rental and forsale housing, most as a partial replacement for residents of the Bedford Dwellings public housing. But due to a change in federal funding priorities, the 1,500 Bedford Dwellings was not entirely demolished, and only 147 of the new housing units—originally slated for completion by 2009—were ever built. Now, almost 20 years later, and with the need for affordable housing greater than ever, the city will try again. Along with its original SEE FUNDS A4
The community is still in disbelief as family and friends, and even some strangers, prepare to say goodbye to a Penn Hills mother of three who was slain outside of a Homewood bar simply because she rejected a man’s advances. Janese Talton-Jackson, 29, was found fatally shot in the early hours of Jan. 22, outside of Cliff’s Bar on North Lang Avenue, in Homewood, by Zone 5 officers who were responding to a ShotSpotter notification in the area, according to a release from the Pittsburgh Public Safety Department. Police have charged 41year-old Charles McKinney, also of Penn Hills, with Talton-Jackson’s murder. She was a mother of three and the sister of State Representative Ed Gainey (DEast Liberty). Funeral arrangements for Talton-Jackson include a viewing on Friday, Jan. 29 at Spriggs and Watson Fu-
JANESE TALTON-JACKSON neral home from 4-8 p.m., followed by a Homegoing service on Saturday, Jan. 30, at 11 a.m. at Shiloh Missionary Community Baptist Church, in Homewood. According to reports, Talton-Jackson, who had been at the bar with friends, had been approached by McKinney multiple times throughout the night and SEE WOMAN A4
Chair says Human Relations Commission has ‘made the turn’ by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer
Two years after Charlie Morrison’s retirement, the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations is still without an executive director. Three weeks ago the mayor responded by suggesting the commission—all 14 members—resign, so a new one can be empanelled. “If they did, we would probably have a director by
this point. We’ve had problems with this commission from the very beginning,” Peduto said. “At this point it seems to be unresolvable, and I would ask again, for the benefit of this entire city, to consider voluntarily stepping down so that we can put together a board that will serve the city of Pittsburgh.” SEE RELATIONS A4
Dignity & Respect champions celebrated at luncheon by Ashley Johnson Courier Staff Writer
Twelve individuals who all year long, embrace diversity, embody compassion and demonstrate mutual respect for themselves, their peers and their community were recently celebrated for being “the most liveable city’s” 2015 champions in the fight for dignity and respect. On Jan. 12 at the Cabaret at Theater Square, the Dignity & Respect Campaign held their annual “Salute to 2015 Dignity & Respect Champions of Greater Pittsburgh” luncheon featuring KDKA’s Lynne HayesFreeland as the emcee. It was also special because it was the official launch of the national organization, Dignity & Respect Campaign Inc.
Pittsburgh Courier NEW
To subscribe, call 412-481-8302 ext. 134 or FAX 412-481-1360
PITTSBURGH CHAMPIONS—A few of the 2015 Dignity & Respect Champions of Greater Pittsburgh. Seated, from left: Michele Rone Cooper, Krista Peckyno, Julie Cerrone, Leigh-Anne Weiss and Dr. Stacy Lane. Standing, from left:Michael Stanton, Kevin Rice, Rev. Shanea Leonard, Fr. Walt Rydzon and Branden Ballard. (Photo by J.L. Martello) For five years, the Dignity & Respect Campaign, once a local initiative of UPMC used to ensure that dignity and respect
was apart of the patient, employee and community experience, and is now a national brand, has selected a champion each
month through nominations made by the community and recognized them in January—Dignity & Respect Month.
Ulish Carter asks
Should Blacks boycott the Oscars? Opinion A6
“Dignity & Respect Month is about a time for us to think about our SEE DIGNITY A4
Charlotte Rampling clarifies controversial diversity remarks
A2
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
LONDON (AP)— Academy Award-nominated actress Charlotte Rampling said her comments that an Oscars' boycott is racist to White people” were misinterpreted. In a statement to CBS News’ “Sunday Morning” on Friday, Rampling said she wished every performance was given equal opportunity for consideration. All this year's acting nominees are White. Rampling, 69, previously told France’s Europe 1 radio Friday that, while it's impossible to know for sure, “maybe the Black actors didn't deserve to be in the final stretch.” She told “Sunday Morning” that “I regret that my comments could have been misinterpreted.” Asked if there should be quotas—not a suggestion made by most boycott supporters—Rampling said we live “in countries nowadays where everyone is more or less accepted,” but there would always be problems with people being judged “not handsome enough,” ''too black” or “too white.” Speaking in French, she asked if the goal was to classify everybody and have “thousands of little minorities everywhere.”
Rampling, who has starred in both English and French films, is nominated for a best-actress Academy Award for Andrew Haigh's portrait of a marriage, “45 Years.” Veteran British actor Michael Caine, meanwhile, urged Black actors to “be patient” and said recognition would come. He told the BBC there are plenty of strong performances by non-White actors this year, including Idris Elba's “wonderful” work in “Beasts of No Na-
tion”—which did not receive an Oscar nomination. “Be patient,” said 82-yearold Caine, who has won two supporting-actor Oscars. “Of course it will come. It took me years to get an Oscar, years.” Chelsea Clinton—daughter of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton—took to social media to condemn Rampling's remarks. “Outrageous, ignorant & offensive comments from Rampling,” she posted on her official Twitter page.
PARK CITY, Utah (AP)— The water contamination crisis in Flint, Michigan, is something millions of people across the globe experience every day. Actor Matt Damon and Gary White, co-founders of the nonprofit Water.org, came to the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday to call attention to the desperate need for clean water in impoverished regions around the world. “Imagine this outrage we feel about Flint—this justified outrage, I should say, because that should never happen in the United States of America, ever,” Damon said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But there are people for whom life is such a desperate struggle, that they’re faced every day with the choice of giving their children dirty water or no water at all.”
Damon and White appeared alongside Todd Allen of Stella Artois to discuss the global water crisis and to announce their “Buy a Lady a Drink” campaign—so named because water shortages disproportionately affect women, who spend hours each day searching for water for their families. The beer maker is introducing a limited-edition collection of decorated glass chalices representing water-poor countries such as Ethiopia, Haiti, India and Honduras. The sale of each $13 goblet will provide a woman in one of these countries with five years of clean water. The partnership began last year and has provided water for 290,000 people so far, Allen said. “Obviously, we’re hoping to do even better this year,”
Damon said. Some 663 million people around the world lack access to clean drinking water. The water crisis in Flint shows how heartbreaking and horrifying life without clean water is, Damon said. He recalled a trip to Ethiopia several years ago where he witnessed schoolchildren filling bottles with water “the color of chocolate milk.” Their parents knew the water would make the children sick, but without it, they would have nothing to drink. “I have four daughters,” Damon said. “When you start having kids, it’s hard not to see other kids as your own…It’s incumbent upon me to do whatever I can within my sphere of influence” to help. Though Christian Bale’s character in the Oscarnominated film “The Big Short” bet on water as the hottest future commodity, White said enough clean water exists to satisfy the thirst and needs of everyone on the planet. “It just becomes where is the water and where are the people, and where are the financial resources to be able to treat it and move it,” he said. “The water is there, but it’s the finance—it’s poverty that’s keeping us from solving the problems.”
BEST ACRESS NOMINEE—In this Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015 file photo, Charlotte Rampling holds the Silver Bear for Best Actress for her role in ’45 years’ after the award ceremony at the 2015 Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin, Germany. (AP Photo/Axel Schmidt, file)
Matt Damon brings call for clean water for all to Sundance
Elaine Effort
This Week In Black History
INTERNATIONAL
Pittsburgh Profiles with KQV’s Elaine Effort sponsored in part by the New Pittsburgh Courier
Pittsburgh Profiles with Elaine Effort heard exclusively on Pittsburgh’s all news radio station for 30 years
KQV 1410 AM and at WWW.KQV.COM
(Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at www.twitter.com/APSandy.)
THE NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER PUBLISHING COMPANY
Publication No.: USPS 381940 315 East Carson Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Phone 412-481-8302 Fax: 412-481-1360 The New Pittsburgh Courier is published weekly periodicals paid at Pittsburgh, Pa. PRICE $1.00 (Payable in advance) Months...........$25 66Months...........$25.00 Year.................$45 11Year.................$45.00 22Years...............$85.00 Years...............$85 9 Month School Rate $35
Friday, January 29 at 7:30 P.M. Saturday, January 30 at 9:30 A.M. Sunday, January 31 Noon
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
New Pittsburgh Courier 315 East Carson Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
Week of Jan. 27-Feb. 2 January 27 1953—One of Black America’s most gifted novelists, Ralph Ellison, wins the prestigious National Book Award with his powerful novel “The Invisible Man.” The novel helped him achieve international fame. The main character constantly escapes one disaster after another. The disasters are brought on by a combination virulent racism and the character’s own naiveté. Ellison was born in Oklahoma City, Okla. 1961—Opera diva Leontyne Price makes her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. 1972—Mahalia Jackson, generally considered the MAHALIA JACKSON greatest gospel singer that ever lived, dies of heart failure on this day near Chicago, Ill. She was born in New Orleans, La. She settled in Chicago where she briefly studied beauty culture under the nation’s first Black millionaire, Madame C.J. Walker. Among her greatest and most frequently requested songs were “Did It Rain,” “Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho, “ “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands,” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.” January 28 1938—Crystal Byrd Fauset becomes the first Black woman elected to a state legislature when she wins a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. 1944—Matthew Henson receives a medal from the U.S. Congress for being co-discoverer of the North Pole along with Robert Peary. The medal, however, came 35 years after the historic feat because Peary, a White man and Henson’s boss, received all the credit for decades. However, records show that Henson, leading a party of four Inuits (Eskimos) actually reached the North Pole 45 minutes before Peary. 1989—After 62 years and numerous protests, the Colgate-Palmolive Company ends the sale of “Darkie Toothpaste.” The toothpaste, which was only sold in Asia, was renamed “Darlie” and the Sambo-style character on the tube was dropped. January 29 1837—The great Russian literary genius Alexander Pushkin dies on this day as a result of a duel. He is generally considered Russia’s greatest poet. Unlike many famous Europeans of color, MATTHEW HENSON Pushkin was proud of his Black heritage, which is traced to his great grandfather on his mother’s side—Ibrahim Petrovich Gannibal who was most probably an Ethiopian who became part of Russian royalty. Pushkin’s poetic style combined drama, romance and satire. 1908—Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity is incorporated. The Black Greek-letter organization was actually founded, however, on Dec. 4, 1906. The “brothers of the black and gold” have included as members a host of distinguished men ranging from W.E.B. DuBois to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 1913—Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority is incorporated. It is the nation’s oldest Black Greek-letter sorority having been founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C., in 1908. The AKAs are currently headquartered in Chicago, Ill. 1954—Talk-show diva Oprah Winfrey was born on this day in Kosciusko, Miss. However, she was raised in Nashville, Tenn. Winfrey ended her popular “Oprah” show in 2011. She has already launched her own network, OWN. January 30 1797—Sojourner Truth is born Isabella Baumfree in Ulster County, N.Y. She becomes the most influential OPRAH WINFREY and powerfully spoken Black female abolitionists of the 1800s. She worked with other fiery abolitionists including William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass. She says, in 1843, a spiritual revelation compelled her to change her name and preach for the end of slavery. She was also deeply religious and a strong spokesperson for a woman’s right to vote. 1797—The first multi-state organization of Blacks in America is formed when Black Masons in Boston, Mass., led by Prince Hall, create African-American Masonic lodges in Philadelphia, Pa., and Providence, R.I. Overtime, the Prince Hall Masons would become a major force in Black communities around the nation. 1800—The Census Bureau reveals that the United States has a population of 5,300,000 of which 1,002,000 or 19 percent were Blacks. Today, African-Americans constitute roughly 13 percent of the U.S. population. However, the latest Census projections say the percentage of Blacks in America is not expected to grow over the next 40 years, while the Hispanic population is projected to skyrocket. 1926—The Harlem Globetrotters, a comedic but highly skilled basketball team, is organized by Abe Saperstein in Chicago, Ill. The group’s original name was the “Savoy Big Five” after Chicago’s Savoy Ballroom. However, in their early games they wore jerseys suggesting they were from New York. After World War II, they also achieved international fame playing in over 100 countries. Some of the greatest names to play with the Globetrotters were Geese Ausbie, Goose Tatum, Marques Haynes, Curly Neal and Meadowlark Lemon. 1956—The Montgomery, Ala., home of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is bombed by racists apparently angered by his leadership of the Montgomery bus boycott, which set the modern Civil Rights Movement into motion. This would be the first of several attempts on the civil rights legend’s life. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. January 31 1865—Congress passes the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, which upon ratification, abolished slavery in America. The vote was 121 to 24. Ratification was not completed until December 1865. The amendment read simply: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as punishment for crime whereof the party has been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States nor any place subject to its jurisdiction.” The exception for crime led to the passage of a host of laws, especially in the South, specifically designed to criminalize certain behaviors and place Blacks back into involuntary servitude. 1919—Baseball great Jackie Robinson in born in Cairo, Ga. He became the first Black to play in the White major league of baseball when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. He played from 1947 to 1956. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962. Prior to the Dodgers, Robinson played with the Kansas City Monarchs of the old Negro Baseball League. He retired as perhaps the most admired man in baseball and died in 1972. 1963—James Baldwin’s influential collection of essays, “The Fire Next Time” is published. The essays warn White America that they can expect racial turmoil if they do not address issues of injustice in America. Baldwin expected Blacks to show Whites how to avoid conflict by adopting a redemptive spirit. Born in Harlem, N.Y., in 1924, Baldwin became a homosexual apparently as a result of being raised by a non-emotionally supportive and often cruel father. 2006—Coretta Scott King, widow of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., died at the age of 78. February 1 JAMES BALDWIN 1902—Langston Hughes, one of Black America’s greatest poets, is born in Joplin, Miss. He came to fame during the 1920s period of African-American cultural expression known as the Harlem Renaissance. Before his death in 1967, he wrote 15 collections of poetry, two autobiographies and several children’s books. Hughes can best be described as “dignified, but militant.” He captured the spirit of the Harlem Renaissance writing in 1926, “We younger Negro artists now intend to express our darkskinned selves without fear or shame. If White people are pleased, we are glad. If they aren’t, it doesn’t matter.” 1926—The first “Negro History Week” is celebrated. Founded by Black historian Carter G. Woodson, the “week” became Black History Month in 1976. Woodson said he would welcome the day when a separate Black history celebration was no longer necessary because his ultimate goal was a true history “devoid of national bias, race hate and religious prejudice.” 1960—The “sit-in” movement as a protest method for civil rights is born on this day in Greensboro, N.C., when four North Carolina A&T students sit down at a “Whites only” lunch counter and refuse to move until served or arrested. Within two weeks the tactic had spread to 15 cities in five Southern states. The original four students were Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair, Franklin McCain and David Richmond. 1965—One of the largest mass arrests of the Civil Rights Movement occurs when more than 700 people are jailed as a result of a protest in Selma, Ala. Among those thrown in prison was Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. JANET JACKSON 2004—As a result of a so-called “wardrobe malfunction” singer Janet Jackson’s breast was briefly exposed while performing during the Super Bowl’s half-time show. The incident created a national controversy, including fines by the FCC. February 2 1839—Black inventor Edmond Berger develops one of the first spark plugs made in America.
Philadelphia's former police chief to advise Chicago force
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
NATIONAL
by Don Babwin
Associated Press Writer CHICAGO (AP)—A former deputy superintendent of the Chicago Police who left to head departments in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia is returning to the city help reform a force that’s trying to regain public trust in the wake of a video showing a White officer fatally shooting a Black teenager, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office announced Jan. 24. Charles Ramsey, one of the nation’s most respected law enforcement figures, has twice—first in Washington and then in Philadelphia—invited federal reviews of those agencies similar to the civil rights investigation into Chicago Police Department that the Justice Department announced last month. He has said that police-involved shootings in both of those cities subsequently declined. Ramsey, an African American from the city’s South Side, returns to Chicago amid protests that have called for Emanuel to resign over the release two months ago of the video of Laquan McDonald’s shooting death by Officer Jason Van Dyke. The video sparked the biggest crisis of Emanuel’s administration and cost Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy his job. “The situation in Chicago is not unlike many cities across the country, but the people of Chicago should know that their leaders are working hard to restore trust where it has been lost,” Ramsey said in a
FORMER PHILADELPHIA POLICE COMMISSIONER CHARLES RAMSEY (Matt Rourke/Associated Press/File 2015) statement. What kind of recommendations he will make is unclear, but last month he said that he wanted state police in Pennsylva-
nia to head investigations of police-involved shootings in Philadelphia. The 65-year-old Ramsey joined the Chicago Police Department as a cadet in
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
A3
1968, rose through the ranks over three decades and had a key role in the establishment of community policing in Chicago. Since he left in 1998 to head Washington’s force, his name has come up repeatedly as a candidate for Chicago superintendent. He has applied a number of times, including in 2011, before Emanuel selected McCarthy. Ramsey retired this month as Philadelphia’s Police Commissioner, and following Emanuel’s firing of McCarthy in the wake of the McDonald video’s release, had said he was not interested in the job. In fact, earlier this month, the mayor of Wilmington, Delaware, announced that Ramsey had been hired as a public safety consultant. Dashcam video released Nov. 24 of the shooting more than a year earlier shows Van Dyke shooting McDonald 16 times as he walks away from police officers with a knife at his side. Van Dyke is charged with murder and has pleaded not guilty. The shooting has turned a spotlight on longstanding concerns about a “code of silence” in the Chicago Police Department, in which officers stay quiet about or even cover up possible misconduct by colleagues. Police Board President Lori Lightfoot has said the 39 applicants for the superintendent job will be asked for “creative solutions” to motivate officers to come forward when they see misconduct. Lightfoot says she hopes to present Emanuel with the names of three finalists by the end of February.
Clinton courts youth with celebs, but many prefer Sanders by Catherine Lucey Associated Press Writer IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP)—Hillary Clinton has a lot of celebrity pals on her side, like actress Lena Dunham and singers Katy Perry or Demi Lovato, the latter of whom belted out hits at a campaign concert at the University of Iowa. It’s a play to help the former secretary of state connect with younger voters. But so far, the star power isn’t swaying the college set. Many say they prefer her rumpled 74-year-old rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, regardless of whether he got star power behind him or not. “Bernie appeals more to my cool,” said Alex Bare, 19, a University of Iowa student who plans to caucus for Sanders, but said he likes Clinton and came for the free concert in Iowa City, Jan. 21. “He refuses to take money from super PACs. That’s a really bold move and for me, that makes him cool.” The push for younger voters comes amid an intensifying battle for the Democratic nomination. While Clinton and Sanders are locked in a tight race in Iowa, and Clinton has held the lead nationally, Sanders has a clear advantage among younger voters. A recent Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa poll forecast that Sanders will have 59 percent of Democratic caucus-goers 45 and under, compared to the 27 percent expected to back Clinton. And in the latest CBS News/New York Times poll Sanders led 60 percent to 31 percent among Democratic primary voters under 45. “He has the hipster vote,” said Erin Kelleher, 26, a graduate student at the University of Iowa, who said she was deciding between Clinton and Sanders. But she said the Lovato show wouldn’t sway her because “I don’t care about the celebrities.” Sanders has collected some celebrity buddies too. Actress Susan Sarandon and actor Justin Long are appearing at Sanders rallies in Iowa ahead of the Feb. 1 caucus. The campaign also has a number of celebrities doing media outreach on Sanders’ behalf, including hip hop artist Killer Mike and musicians from the bands Foster the People and Vampire Weekend. But Sanders is drawing big student crowds without them on the bill. It’s not that the students were negative about Clinton—they simply like what Sanders has to offer more. They are packing his rallies by the thousands because they like his push for free tuition at public universities and his long record on liberal issues. They like that he doesn’t take money from political action committees. They even dig his rolled-up shirt-sleeves and his grumpy grandpa demeanor. Most of all, they love the slogan: “Feel the Bern.” “Bernie gets me stoked,” said Ian Wold, 20, a junior at the University of Iowa
who plans to vote for Sanders in the state’s kick-off caucus. The fight for younger voters harkens back to the 2008 race, when Clinton lost the youth vote to President Barack Obama. While younger voters tend to be less reliable participants, they can make all the difference in a close race. In addition, young enthusiasm helps a candidate project momentum. About 1,700 students came to hear Lovato and Clinton on Jan. 21. Backed by a small band, Lovato performed several songs, including her hit “Confident,” after which she said “I don’t think there’s a woman more confident than Hillary Clinton.” Clinton then came on stage IN THIS PHOTO TAKEN JAN. 21, 2016, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and musician Demi Lovato acand spoke for about five min- knowledge the cheering crowd at a rally on the campus of University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) utes, calling Lovato an “extraordinary young woman” and urging the students to caucus. She drew enthusiastic applause pledging to fight for equal rights and to “take on those big special interests.” Earlier in the day, Clinton held an event at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. The room packed with more than 500 people was largely older. Hannah Friesen, a 20-year-old student who said she was undecided, said that when Sanders came to campus, “a ton” of students attended and some “made their own shirts.” Some students at the University of Iowa and at the concert were Clinton fans. Austin Graber, 22, said he thought Clinton was “the most qualified.” And Lauren Ellbogen, 18, said she’d be working at the caucuses for Clinton and said she didn’t think Sanders was “realistic.” Huge numbers of young people turned out to rallies for Sanders on college campuses in eastern Iowa over the weekend. Over 2,000 people came to hear Sanders at Luther College in Decorah Sunday morning. Decked out in “Feel the Bern” shirts, students screamed and cheered when Sanders touted his lack of a super PAC and pledged to provide free tuition at public universities. The crowds chanted: “Bernie, Bernie, Bernie,” and frequently yelled “We love you Bernie.” Celebrities have been campaigning for Hillary for months. Wearing an American flag cape and a Clinton campaign pin, pop starlet Perry performed at a Clinton rally in Des Moines in October. Actress Lena Dunham toured Iowa and New Hampshire and did events in Boston and Chicago for Clinton this month. Many students said the Lovato concert was a good move for Clinton, but they weren’t all convinced. Jen Moulton, 18, who leans to Sanders, said the concert was “kind of cool, but it comes off like she’s trying really hard.”
FEELIN' THE BERN—Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. takes a selfie with young supporters at a campaign event, Monday, Jan. 25, 2016, in Iowa Falls, Iowa. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A4
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
METRO
Dignity & Respect champions celebrated at luncheon CONTINUED FROM A1
commitments to ourselves and others at a time when we renew our commitment anyway for our New Year’s resolutions,” said Dignity & Respect Campaign Inc. Founder and CEO Candi Castleberry Singleton, who was humbled by the audience’s attendance, even on the day of what was considered the first real snow of the season. “Each month, throughout the year, people are nominated from the community; people who are often times doing grassroots work. So, we want to give some visibility to people who are doing good work, who are making the world a better place, making our communities a better place, making our schools a better place, making our sports teams better for young people to play.” Awards were presented to John Wallace, cofounder of the Homewood Children’s Village and a University of Pittsburgh professor; Rev. Shanea Leonard, pastor and founder of Judah Fellowship Christian Church on the North Side; Kevin Rice, executive director of the Steel Center for Career and Technical Education; Dr. Stacy Lane, an infectious disease physician in Pittsburgh; Branden Ballard, manager for the Pittsburgh Public
CANDI CASTLEBERRY SINGLETON, founder and CEO, speaks to the crowd. (Photos by J.L. Martello) Schools We Promise Program; Michael Stanton, co-founder of Open Hand Ministries; Inez Colon, director of employment and development at Port Authority; Krista Peckyno, an attorney for commercial transactions at GENCO; Leigh-Anne Weiss, an advocate for funding for congenital
Woman killed outside Homewood bar for rejecting man’s advances CONTINUED FROM A1
she rejected his passes. She then got up to leave, McKinney allegedly followed and shot her outside of the establishment. On their way to investigate the notification from ShotSpotter, officers saw a vehicle, which was McKinney’s, leaving the area and affected a traffic stop, according to reports. While officers were speaking with him, they received a dispatch that a woman had been shot near the intersection. Upon hearing that information, the driver sped off and a police chase ensued. During the chase that went through Wilkinsburg, Penn Hills and back through Wilkinsburg, officers fired upon McKinney;
he finally stopped after crashing his car into an unoccupied parked vehicle along McNary Boulevard. He was then taken into custody. In addition to homicide, McKinney is also charged with two counts of aggravated assault, firearms without a license, fleeing or attempting to elude police, two counts of possession with intent to deliver, two counts of recklessly endangering another person, and reckless driving. The officers who shot McKinney were placed on administrative leave, per Pittsburgh Bureau of Police protocol, while the matter is investigated. Talton-Jackson is the first female to be killed in Allegheny County in 2016.
COUNCIL MEMBERS—Greater Pittsburgh Dignity & Respect Council members, J. Bracken Burns, chair, and Christine Bryson, co-chair, right, speak to the crowd about the campaign.
heart defects and stroke research; Fr. Walt Rydzon, pastor of St. Anthony’s Church; Julie Cerrone, a certified health and wellness coach; and Michele Rone Cooper, co-founder of McAuley Ministries. Reverend Leonard, the February 2015 Champion who is also the board chair of New Voices Pittsburgh, said of the honor, “It’s a humbling experience and it’s great to know that dignity and respect is being championed across this city and across this nation. I applaud Candi and the work she’s doing. It’s great to be recognized, but it’s an even greater honor to do the work.” She also said that “it’s our responsibility and duty to make this a livable city for everyone.” Like Rev. Leonard, Ballard, the May 2015 Champion who volunteers and is a youth mentor, also thinks this award is something special. “It means a lot to me. I think I posted on my social media that I’ve received many awards in my time here, in Pittsburgh, but this may be my favorite just because (I’m) being acknowledged for something I do everyday, which is showing dignity and respect to anyone I’m around.” Following the recognition of the champions, the audience was given an introduction to Dignity & Respect Campaign Inc., along with an update on the national campaign through a video presenta-
City seeks funds for Middle Hill CONTINUED FROM A1
partners—the URA, the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh and the Hill Community Development Corporation— the city has announced it is applying for a $2 million federal Choice Neighborhoods grant to write a “Neighborhood Transformation Plan” that would include plans for 1,200 new housing units, with 804 designated as “affordable.” Additionally, according to a Jan. 19 press release from Mayor Bill Peduto, the plan would commit to a one-for-one replacement of the remaining 411 units at Bedford Dwellings and would support investment along the Bedford, Herron and Centre Avenue corridors. “Working together we can turn the rebirth of the Hill from a dream into a reality,” said Peduto.” Starting with the Lower Hill, moving through Uptown and now the Middle Hill, all Hill District neighborhoods are poised for new opportunities for community growth.” Councilman R. Daniel Lavelle has already introduced a resolution authorizing the city to commit the $10,000 in matching funds required to win the grant. “If awarded, the grant would provide a tremendous opportunity for the Hill to not only build off of our master plan, but to also begin doing some implementation work, such as the initiation of the planning for the redevelopment of Bedford Dwellings,” Lavelle said. “It is therefore critical that the city be a co-applicant to demonstrate our commitment to HUD.” The grant proposal will also out line how the project will enhance education and employment opportunities for residents, as well as access to amenities like parks, and arts and entertainment venues. If the application is successful, it will take between two to three years to complete the neighborhood plan. Housing Authority Executive Director
Castor Binion was not here when the original Bedford Plan was initiated, but said the Choice Homes application presents a great opportunity. “The Housing Authority is excited about the opportunity to begin the process of revitalizing Bedford Dwellings—the oldest public housing community in Pennsylvania and the last of the Hill District’s World War II Era public housing communities,” he said. “We look forward to working with the City of Pittsburgh and our partners throughout the Middle Hill throughout this process. We are fully committed to achieving a plan that meets the affordable housing needs of the Middle Hill and further adds to the ongoing revitalization efforts already underway on the Hill.” Hill Consensus Group founder Carl Redwood Jr., who has already filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over affordable housing commitments on development at the former Civic Arena site in the lower Hill, repeated that “affordable housing” has to be affordable for the people in the Hill District, meaning these 408 units should be set aside and subsidized for people earning 50 percent or less than the median area income, rather than the usual 80 percent. He said his understanding is that 400 of the units will fit that criteria. “The plan will be aimed at tearing down the Somers Drive and Chauncey Drive projects, which house about 400 families, and developing about 1200 units—with 400 getting a deep subsidy, 400 at workforce rates, and 400 at the market rate,” he said. A community meeting on the application was held Jan. 28. Details were not available by New Pittsburgh Courier deadline. (A PowerPoint presentation on the plan is available at http://apps.pittsburghpa.gov/mayorpeduto/2016.01.1 9-Hill_District_Leadership_Meeting_Presentation.pdf)
tion featuring the founder herself. According to Singleton, there are more than 100 organizations, schools and other entities that have joined the campaign. During her remarks, Singleton spoke of the importance of Campaign, highlighted some of its tips as
well as initiatives and new apps that will be in place, and left the audience with a call to action. She challenged everyone to make a new friend, teach somebody something new and to learn something new because “we have been given this day to use as we will. We
can waste it or use it for good. When tomorrow comes it will be gone forever, and in its place, something you and I, and we, together, left behind.” (For more information on the Dignity & Respect Campaign Inc., visit www.dignityandrespect.org or call 1-855-2228211.)
Chair: Human Relations Commission ‘has made the turn’ CONTINUED FROM A1
But commission Chair Winford Craig, said that is in the past. “We have made the turn. When I was elected chairman, I was charged with righting the ship, and I think we are doing that,” he said. Craig empanelled a new four-member personnel committee that is charged with conducting the executive director search and hiring process, and he said it avoids all the bickering that marked their previous efforts. “Everything is completely transparent. There is no favoritism, no nepotism. I’m very comfortable with this—I’m happy,” he said. The committee created a new process and it was approved by a full commission. We have a strong candidate pool and by the end of March we’ll choose a wonderful new executive director to lead us.” Though problems among the commissioners had been brewing for some time, in December they boiled over when former commission Chair Leah Williams Duncan wrote Mayor Bill Peduto saying the process has been beset by discrimination, favoritism and outside inter-
ference—specifically from Peduto’s office. He said the Office of Municipal Investigations is reviewing Duncan’s charges, including: •That a female finalist for the executive director’s spot, Patricia Rodgers, was held to a different standard during interviews, opening up the city to a possible discrimination lawsuit; •That commission members presented “false or misleading” information about Rodgers; and •That Valerie McDonald Roberts pressured commissioners to accept former University of Pittsburgh Vice Chancellor Robert Hill’s application after the deadline had passed because the administration wanted him to have the $80,000 per year job. In the meantime, none of the commission’s members, including the four Peduto has appointed since 2014, have resigned—nor did any of the original commissioners when Peduto asked the members of all city boards and commissions to resign after taking office. Roberts said she only asked for Hill to be included to broaden the candidate pool and because the position “wasn’t well-advertised.” Rodgers, a former legisla-
tive aide to state Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Hill, is declining comment on the commission “on advice of counsel.” Ricardo Williams, the city’s manager for equity and inclusion, said the mayor cannot force any resignations, but several commissioners’ terms will expire in the spring, adding that a reformulated, smaller commission might be in the offing. “It’s always been large. That may be something to look at going forward with all our commissions,” he said. “That being said, when you look at the committees they have, and the broadness of their investigations, you need enough people to be able to do that work.” Craig said none of the board’s problems had any impact on the commission’s work investigating discrimination. “We’ve still been doing what are charged to,” he said. “The staff, the interim executive director and her team has been tenacious and focused. The day to day operation has not been affected at all.” The commission’s next scheduled meeting is Feb. 4. (Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburgh.com.)
Penn Plaza residents running out of time CONTINUED FROM A1
After a flurry of negotiations with Mayor Bill Peduto’s office and the URA, Pennley Park South agreed to delay the eviction and conduct it, and the redevelopment, in phases. It also agreed to subsidize the residents’ relocation—with residents of 5704 Penn Ave. receiving $1,600 per apartment to move by Feb. 28, 2016 and residents of 5600 Penn Ave. receiving $800 to move out by March 31, 2017. The URA gave Neighborhood Allies $300,000 to manage the relocation. Zak Thomas, senior program officer for affordable housing, said it has already relocated 82 people. Most, however, had to leave the neighborhood. About 20 residents either have or are scheduled to move into the second Penn Plaza building, he said, and as such will have another year to find a new apartment off-site. “The last 30, they really have no plan,” he said. “I don’t know if we can get them into the other building. We are trying to be creative and come up with options.” Some, he said, are on waiting lists for other buildings and are determined to hold out until the last minute. “Others qualify for senior housing but are resistant to going that route—even though
those that have experienced an upgrade in their living environment,” Thomas said. “At the end of the day, it’s their decision. We have some ‘plan Bs’ in place for them and with a deadline looming we expect some movement. It’ll be a fluid situation over the next few weeks.” Peduto spokesman Tim McNulty said the mayor is determined to see the residents provided for. “The mayor is committed to making sure that everyone at Penn Plaza will be placed,” he said. “And, under the terms of our agreement, we expect that the developer and stakeholder community will collaborate to make sure nobody falls through the cracks.” A Jan. 25 press release from Action United said it will hold a protest Feb. 5 with about 20 of the residents who have formed a “crisis committee” in response to the looming deadline. They will call for an extension to the deadline so they secure “acceptable, affordable homes.” “Six months is just not enough time to properly and respectfully relocate this many people,” said crisis committee member William Stribling. The protest is scheduled for 10 a.m. (Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
METRO
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
A5
Community Calendar
Neighborhood violence lives next door to White prosperity
Community Health/ Wellness Fair
CONTINUED FROM A1
JAN. 28—UPMC St. Margaret Hospital and the St. Margaret Foundation will host a Free Community Health/Wellness Fair from 1-3 p.m. at City Hall, 301 Eleventh St., New Kensington. There will be representatives from UPMC St. Margaret as well as the New Kensington Family Health Center on hand to answer questions and conduct screenings, which include blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol. A nine-hour fast is recommended for cholesterol screenings. Light refreshments will be provided. For more information, call 724-3343640.
Campaign Training for Women JAN. 30—The Pennsylvania Center for Women and Politics at Chatham University will host “Ready to Run: Campaign Training for Women” from 8:30 a.m.5:45 p.m. at Chatham University, Mellon Board Room, Woodland Road, Shadyside. This is a bipartisan program for women who want to run for office, seek a higher office, work on a campaign, get appointed to office or just learn about the political system. This all-day seminar is a onestop training on running for office or getting involved in the public life. Registration is required. For more information, call 412-365-1878 or email pcwp@chatham.edu.
Let the Healing Begin JAN. 30—Sisters of Community Empowerment Association and The Eastern Regional Neighborhood Council will host its “Let the Healing Begin” seminar from 1-4 p.m. at 7120 Kelly St., Homewood. This event is an event for women that will include workshops, pampering, presentations and discussions. Workshop topics Financial Literacy, Homeownership, Starting a Home-Based Business and more. Childcare will be provided. Registration is required. For more information, call Genie Beckom at 412-371-3689 ext. 48.
MLK Jr. Leadership Awards JAN. 30—CORO Center for Civic Leadership Pittsburgh will host its Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Awards from 6:30-9 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel and Suites, 1 Bigelow Square, Downtown. The evening will celebrate nine role models in values-based leadership, and include live music and a silent auction. Reservations are required and the attire is party chic. For more information, visit www.bit.ly/mlkawards20 16
Black Veterans Celebration FEB. 13—Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum Trust Inc. will host the 6th Annual African-American Heritage Celebration “Black Veterans with Success: Their History and Commitment to Excellence” at 1 p.m. at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum, Gettysburg Room, 4141 Fifth Ave., Oakland. The afternoon will feature guest panelists who will exemplify ways that success can be achieved as they share their stories. All military and veterans are encouraged to attend. This event is free to the public. For more information, call 412-6214253. (To have items listed on Community Calendar, send information at least two weeks in advance to: 315 E. Carson St., Pittsburgh, PA 15219; Fax: 412-481-1360 or email: newsroom@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
lade to the city in 2005 and several times afterward. A seemingly endless list of publications have lauded Pittsburgh for its economic revitalization, affordability and quality of life. For many, that’s a lie. Drive through Homewood, Larimer or Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar. See if it looks different from Shady Side, Point Breeze or Squirrel Hill. Look for the trendy restaurants, small businesses and boutiques. Drive through the Hill District, nestled in the shadows of towers branded UPMC, BNY Mellon and PNC Plaza—symbols of Pittsburgh’s economic powers, and the downtown that was cut off from the Hill decades ago by a sports arena that’s not even there. Herman Watson, president of the Northside Public Safety Council, describes two Pittsburghs. One is doing exceptionally well, he said. The other is “getting the crumbs off the table.” Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto has talked about subsidizing homeownership in areas like East Liberty, where more than 7,000 are on a waiting list for Section 8 housing. Peduto did not respond to a request for comment for this story. A recent report by the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., called the economic disparity between Black and White in Pittsburgh “staggering.” Unemployment for Black residents with at least a high school diploma was more than twice that of White residents from 2007 to 2011, the report said. Because of historic and ongoing barriers to equal work opportunities, Black men are far more likely to have earnings at or below the poverty level. Margaret Simms, an Urban Institute fellow and co-author of the report, said Pittsburgh, which is roughly a quarter Black, has one of the most segregated metropolitan areas in the country. “There are few bridges from one community to another,” Simms said, noting the irony of Pittsburgh’s nickname, the City of Bridges. Divisions, she said, could worsen with redevelopment because job candidates are expected to have specialized skills and education, the same barriers already facing Black men. The report, commissioned by The Heinz Endowments, also a funder of PublicSource, examined economic barriers facing Black men, not issues like violence. Allegheny County, however, looked specifically at violence in 2014. Most area residents feel safe in their communities, according to the report on street violence prepared by the county’s Department of Human Services. But there are pockets of violence, in Pittsburgh and outside, where chronic shootings make “families fearful about allowing their children to play outside and older adults afraid to walk to the bus stop.” In other words, there’s a disconnect. Residents of some neighborhoods feel safe. And in other sections of the city, they are afraid to leave their homes. Wounded neighborhoods In Pittsburgh, only certain neighborhoods bleed. PublicSource mapped every homicide in the city from 2010 through 2015. The results show a startling geographic division—and clear racial disparity—in who suffers the brunt of the violence. There were no killings in Shady Side. None in Point Breeze, where some of the city’s wealthiest residents make their homes. In fact, there were no murders at all in the huge area—mostly White and affluent—south of Penn Avenue down to Interstate 376. The murder-free zone runs from the eastern city limit up to the borders of Bloomfield and Oakland.
AFTERMATH OF MURDER—At the County Morgue homicide victims often have numerous gunshots in several parts of the body, according to Dr. Karl Williams, medical examiner for Allegheny County. The majority of victims are young Black males. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource) But from Penn Avenue and above—in East Hills, Homewood, Larimer, Lincoln-Lemington-Belmar and the northern part of East Liberty—there were 94 homicides during that six-year period. More than half remain unsolved. Again, that’s nearly 100 murders on one side of the street, and zero on the other. The Hill District had 42 homicides. More than half remain unsolved. Neighborhoods like Marshall-Shadeland and Perry South on the North Side have seen similar violence, as have South Side neighborhoods like Knoxville and Beltzhoover. To call these areas “bad” neighborhoods is to ignore the daily efforts of good people trying to make a living, raise their families and make their community a safer place. This is plainly seen by anyone who bothers to cross arbitrary borders and meet their neighbors.
Violence and silence Homewood North, which covers less than half a square mile, has had 19 murders since 2010. Antwann’s death is one of those. It’s a common scene here, to lie dead from gunshots just a short jog from home. Yet it would seem unthinkable in so many of Pittsburgh’s other neighborhoods. Born Anton Smith, he was known as Antwann to the family that loved him as a foster child for years and adopted him in 2010. He was an aspiring rapper with hopes of attending the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. Around 9 p.m. on Sept. 16, 2013, police responded to a call for shots fired. Antwann was found among bullet casings in front of a home on Mt. Vernon Street. By his grandmother’s telling, problems started years back after he wrote a song mocking losers in a school fight. This situation,
like many others, escalated into a string of shootings. One of those occurred just days before Antwann was killed. Carol’s son Jason Haddock, now serving a prison term, critically injured a 92-year-old jitney driver in a shooting while trying to hit someone else. Carol thinks Antwann was shot in retaliation. There are witnesses who could say as much, she said. But because of disdain for police and fear of being called a snitch, she said they will not come forward. Police issued warrants for two of four suspected gunmen believed to have opened fire at the September vigil held in Antwann’s memory. There were also witnesses at the Phase Bar in Homewood where Carol’s son Charles had been before being shot outside. Carol describes seeing his white tennis shoes sticking out from under the sheet. She knows too many others who understand that pain, even if most of the city doesn’t seem to care. “Until you’ve got to stand and wait for the coroner to come pick up your kid, you don’t know what it’s like,” said Carol. Tragic indifference Eighty-five percent of Pittsburgh homicides have had a Black victim. These include “random innocent victims that are just in the path of flying bullets,” said Dr. Karl Williams, medical examiner for Allegheny County. They tend to involve overkill. Many wounds caused by powerful guns, often in the hands of young men. “There are basically just a lot of gunshot wounds in a lot of parts of the body,” said Williams. On their face, the killings are horrific. Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay said that when he arrived in 2014 he felt that police and the community had become acclimated to violence. “Not everyone in Pittsburgh enjoys the same quality of life,” McLay said recently. “There’s a victimology here that is completely unacceptable.”
McLay said the outrage should be shared by everyone, not just by residents who see violence firsthand. Police attribute violence to very few individuals. In other words, these aren’t neighborhoods brimming with violent criminals. Residents often feel helpless. Under McLay’s leadership, officers have tried to rebuild damaged relationships with the community. Unless residents feel safe from violence and have basic faith in the justice system, police acknowledge that their work can be impossible. McLay said he feels progress has been made. However, building trust takes time. What’s at stake is basic public safety and the ability to do something so often taken for granted: to walk down the streets near home and not fear violence. A Pittsburgh problem Tamara Williams left for Texas. Her brother Mark “Bizz” Williams, 48, was killed by a gunshot to the head on July 31, 2014, on Bennett Street in Homewood. He wasn’t found until after sunrise. She can’t believe nobody saw. “There’s too many windows, and there were too many people out that night,” she said. She left town shortly after a monument to him was defaced. She said she felt threatened, and, after more than a year, there’s still been no arrest. As the police and the rest of the community seems to move on, she’s taken it on herself to keep interest going in the case. She posts many times a day to a Facebook group, sharing videos and photos in his memory, offering up a $30,000 reward to incentivize people to come forward. There’s been some progress, she said. But there’s a familiar frustration. Violence deeply affects a family, but elsewhere, the city is indifferent. “We need other people to be outraged and say this is going on in our city,” Tamara said. “Not just Homewood, the Hill District or North Side.”
A6
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
OPINION
Should Blacks boycott the Oscars?
Guest Editorial
Obama slams the brakes on fear-mongering In his final State of the Union address on Jan. 12, President Barack Obama urged the nation to reject the politics of fear and polarization and for Americans to respond to economic and other societal changes with confidence instead of fear. Instead of a long list of policy proposals that presidents usually give, Obama’s final State of the Union address was different. In many ways he offered a much needed rebuttal against the fear-mongering espoused by Republican presidential candidates now campaigning to succeed him. The Republican presidential hopefuls are telling Americans that the nation is in decline and that they should be afraid, Obama said. The president offered a strong rebuttal to the politics of fear. “America has been through big changes—wars and depression, the influx of immigrants, workers fighting for a fair deal, and movements to expand civil rights,” said Obama in the prime-time televised address. “Each time, there has have been those who told us to fear the future, who claimed we could slam the brakes on changes, promising to restore past glory if we just got some group or idea that was threatening America under control,” he said. The president’s words offered a strong contrast to the words of Donald J. Trump and other GOP candidates who are running to succeed him. Ironically the gloom-and-doom approach of the Republicans comes at a time of a resurgent economy and when America is not in major military confront. The fact is that since President Obama took office, the nation has created more jobs and more Americans have access to health care through the Affordable Care Act. While the nation still faces the challenges of income equality and terrorism, progress has been made under the Obama administration. The unemployment rate has fallen to 5 percent, cut in half since its peak during the financial crises he inherited from the Bush administration. More than 13 million more jobs have been created since the economic recovery began. Violent crime is down as are gasoline prices. Yet many problems remain. The poverty rate is at 14.8 percent, higher than when Obama took office. The rise of the Islamic State and terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calf., has many Americans more anxious. But the overly bleak picture that Republicans are seeking to paint of America in deep decline is wrong and seeks to exploit the anxiety of those Americans who have lost ground in the economy and the security concerns they have about terrorism. When Obama took office he inherited a financial crisis, the worse recession since the Great Depression and a nation fighting two wars. With this in mind, the problems that remain have to be put in proper perspective. (Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)
Pittsburgh Courier NEW
Founded 1910
Rod Doss
Editor & Publisher Stephan A. Broadus Assistant to the Publisher
Allison Palm
Eric Gaines
Office Manager
Advertising Manager
Ulish Carter
Ashley Johnson Associate Editor
Managing Editor
Jeff Marion Circulation Consultant
John H. Sengstacke Editor & Publisher Emeritus (1912-1997)
This has become a huge issue behind the Social Media efforts of Jada Pinkett Smith who is fighting to get Blacks to boycott the Oscars because for the second year straight no Blacks have been nominated out of the entire 20 categories nominated. Let me repeat that, nominated. Not win or place, but nominated. Are we going backward? About 30 years or more Eddie Murphy blasted the Academy powers for the lack of Black representation in any category, for years, and even though it didn’t help Eddie Murphy because he was already a mega star, it helped the industry as a whole because now we have: Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman, Cuba Gooding Jr., Danny Glover, Wesley Snipes, Jamie Foxx, Ice Cube, Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Laurence Fishburne, Mario Van Peebles, Terrence Howard, Don Cheadle, Forest Whitaker, Morris Chestnut, Taye Diggs, and Louis Gossett to join those lonely names back then of Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, Harry Belafonte, Jim Brown, Fred Williamson, Billy Dee Williams and James Earl Jones. And just as things looked like they were moving forward with Denzel winning an Oscar for “Training Day” (and he should have won for “Malcolm X”), then Jamie Foxx for “Ray,” then Forest Whitaker for “The Last King of Scotland,” now all of a sudden those doors are beginning to close again. You notice I didn’t mention Tyler Perry. Why? Because he created his own doors by first creating plays in which he marketed almost exclusively to the Black audience, then movies geared toward Blacks. If Whites came out to watch them, great, but he wasn’t depending on them. Will Smith said that he would join his wife in the boycott. Part of that may be the fact that in one of the best movies of the year, and one of the most important, “Concussion” Will Smith wasn’t even nominated for Best Actor. Most of the people who have seen this movie can’t understand why not. Ice Cube, who most felt would be
Ulish Carter
Just Sayin’
Viola Davis. And of course back in the day it was Diahann Carroll, Pam Grier, Gloria Hendry, Tamara Dobson and Cicely Tyson and very briefly, Diana Ross, Dorothy Dandridge, and Lena Horne. Only Grier, Tyson, and Carroll had more than three movies with extended roles. Oh…by the way my view on the boycott? Unless they are going to march with picket signs outside the venue holding the Oscars it will have little affect. How many Black people attend anyways? What should be done is that every Black person who has a speaking role, including host Chris Rock, should voice their protest. Just not showing up is not enough. Ice Cube said he wasn’t there last year and had no plans on being there this year unless his movie had been nominated. According to an AP story the controversy has gotten to the Motion Picture Academy, which has announced sweeping changes aimed at diversifying the cast of Oscar voters who now are predominately White and male. The 51-member board pledged to double the number of women and minority members in the academy by 2020. This should have been done years ago. So I hope Black actors, producers, and directors will show up and voice their views on the lack of Blacks on screen as well as behind the screen. And since this is supposed to be such a progressive field White actors should lend their support, vocally and physically at the awards. Hopefully something positive happens at this year Oscars. I don’t think it will be a real protest, but some kind of protest with people not attending and stating why or people attending and voicing their concerns about the lack of Blacks being nominated as well as the lack of Blacks in decision making categories in the movie industry. But it can’t just be Black people; it must be Whites, Latinos, and Women showing their support for diversity.
nominated as best producer for “Straight Out Of Compton” said that it doesn’t bother him because he doesn’t make movies for the industry but for the people. If one of his movies won an award or awards great, but if not as long as people came out to see them and was satisfied it was great with him. Some have stated that there needs to be more Blacks and other minorities making the decisions. Wow, is this 2016? If I read it right the top movie in the country last week was “Ride Along 2” in which the two main stars, Kevin Hart and Ice Cube are Black. I’ve always felt the Academy Awards should be more diverse, and should have more categories. There should be an overall award, plus categories such as Comedy, Action, Drama, Romance, Science Fiction, etc. But there should be more Blacks creating their own productions much like Tyler Perry, Ice Cube, Spike Lee and John Singletary. That way we don’t have to totally depend on the crumbs that the White man wants to give us. It’s called creating our own. I hope you noticed that I didn’t mention Black women in the first part of this column. That’s because the doors are still not open to them unless they can appeal to the White audience. The exception has been a very small window: Whoopi Goldberg, Kerry Washington, and Halle Berry. Women on the verge who have been excellent when given the opportunity are: Gabrielle Union, Angela Bassett, Sanaa Lathan, Nia Long, Vanessa Williams, Regina King, Jenifer Lewis, Vivica Fox, Jada Pinkett, Queen Lati(Ulish Carter is the managing editor of the fah, Kimberly Else, Alfre Woodard, Lonette McKee, Lynn Whitfield, and New Pittsburgh Courier.)
Victory in biggest rape case you never heard of (NNPA)—“Wrong is wrong: justice needs to be served,” is a statement that my client Jannie Ligons made when she was interviewed shortly after Daniel Holtzclaw was found guilty of rape, forcible oral sodomy and other charges against 13 AfricanAmerican women. Ligons, a 58-year old grandmother and day care worker with no criminal history, was one of the women sexually assaulted by Holtzclaw while he served as an Oklahoma City Police Officer. In 2014, Ligons made a complaint about Holtzclaw, which triggered a police investigation that ultimately led to his conviction. Last Thursday, a jury responded by sentencing him to 263 years in prison. Holtzclaw misused his position and authority as a police officer for at least 15 months while he sexually assaulted 13 African-American women. It is truly courageous that Ligons even came forward against him, because most victims of sexual assault never report their assault. The case against Holtzclaw was by all counts ignored by mainstream media. Here, we had a police officer preying on African-American women in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Oklahoma City and no one was paying attention. From the moment Ligons filed a complaint against Holtzclaw to when Holtzclaw was indicted to when he sat down for trial in front of an all-White jury, the media did a disservice by refusing to inform America about what had been hap-
Benjamin L. Crump
Commentary pening in Oklahoma City. The role of the police department is to protect its citizens and property from criminal activity, enforce laws, and assist the prosecution in preparing cases against alleged criminals. However, there is an additional role and expectation where law enforcement should provide oversight and training to ensure that misconduct in their department does not occur. When it does happen, they have an obligation to investigate fully and ensure that there are real consequences. The crimes committed by Holtzclaw are too important to ignore. This man violated 13 women that he vowed to protect. In doing so, he also violated his badge and the trust that people within the community have placed in police. In 2012, President Obama issued a proclamation stating, “It is up to all of us to ensure victims of sexual violence are not left to face these trials alone…We must do more to raise awareness about the realities of sexual assault; confront and change insensitive attitudes wherever they per-
sist…” Two years later, the White House Council on Women and Girls issued a report entitled “Rape and Sexual Assault: A Renewed Call to Action.” This report examined rape and sexual assault from numerous angles including the economic impact, campus sexual assaults, and the sexual assault of imprisoned men and women. But, it did not focus on the increasing complaints of sexual misconduct against arresting officers; nor did it discuss the underreporting of sexual misconduct and harassment that is endured by women working in law enforcement from their male counterparts and/or supervisors. As citizens of this nation, we must ensure that mistreatment of women will not be tolerated, particularly while in the custody of law enforcement. Holtzclaw’s victims ranged in age from 17 years old to 57 years old. In many ways, this case represented the 400 years of racism, oppression, and sexual assault African American women have always had to face. This was a victory not only for the OKC 13, but also for so many unknown victims of sexual assault. We were able to stop a serial rapist with a badge when everyone else ignored these Black women. My hope is that now this case will become an example for the rest of America and the world to follow. (Benjamin L. Crump is the president of the National Bar Association and represents the families of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, and the father of Tamir Rice. He also represented five of the 13 women in this case.)
A letter to the Bernie Sanders campaign (NNPA)—To the Campaign: I am writing as a concerned Sanders supporter. I am thrilled that the campaign has caught on as it has. Senator Sanders has raised many of the issues that need to be raised, which are generally ignored by the political establishment. He is correct to be challenging the political and economic elites that are dominating this country and, for that matter, much of the world. I am certainly hoping that Senator Sanders receives the nomination and handily wins the November 2016 Presidential election. That said, I am deeply concerned that the campaign is missing tremendous opportunities, particularly when it comes to communities of color. Here’s an example. The noted writer, Ta-Nehisi Coates has recently published a stinging critique of Senator Sanders on the question of reparations to African Americans. Leaving aside differences on the issue, what particularly struck me was the final paragraph of the article. Coates indicated that he had reached out to the campaign and was ignored. How does anyone ignore a writer of such significance as Coates? This is someone who has raised many an
Bill Fletcher Jr.
Commentary eyebrow with his incisive writing on the Black experience and has accumulated quite a following. If the Coates example was the only one it would be bad enough, but that is not the case. Whether one is talking about media appearances or those who have sought to assist the campaign, it is completely unclear why the Sanders campaign is not seizing opportunities. The deeper question, which is relevant to strategy and vision, is that the Campaign, while at times speaking about matters of race, has not gone out of its way to embed itself within communities of color. As I have previously raised, there is an interesting contrast between this approach and that taken by Rev. Jesse Jackson in his 1988 presidential campaign. Jackson went out of his way to embed himself and his
campaign in social movements and communities that were not his natural constituency, e.g., White farmers in the Midwest. Jackson became their champion and not their savior. What we do not see, at least up until now, is a similar approach by the Sanders campaign. For raising these issues some have suggested that I am overthinking the issue or being a ‘downer,’ but I reject such arguments. I want to see Sanders win, but I want to see him win as the champion of those who have lived the underside of the “American Dream,” and not just experienced it since the 2008 Great Recession. We need Sanders to speak before the other candidates about matters like the travesty with Flint, Michigan’s water supply. We need Sanders speaking out about the destruction of Puerto Rico that we are witnessing, the result of both colonialism and the policies of Wall Street. We need him doing more than agreeing with other candidates when they, first, raise the issue. We need Sanders to be the pacesetter. I sincerely hope that these concerns will be factored in as the campaign’s strategy evolves. (Bill Fletcher Jr. is the host of The Global African on Telesur-English.)
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
FORUM
The Palins: ‘Personal Responsibility’ hypocrites
Others define us we must define ourselves
(GEORGE CURRY MEDIA)—Since former half-term Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin erupted on the national scene by telling everyone she could see Russia from her perch in Alaska, she has been lecturing everyone about accepting responsibility. For example, speaking to Tea Party supporters in Nashville in 2010, Palin said, “My plan is quite simple. To support those who support the foundation of our country when it comes to the economy. It is free-market principles that reward hard work and personal responsibility.” As Professor Melissa Harris-Perry explained, the “language of personal responsibility is often a code language used against poor and minority communities.” For sure, accepting “personal responsibility” is not a trait of the Palin family. Take the latest family drama in the news—the arrest of Track Palin on Jan. 18 in Wasila, Alaska for domestic violence. According to formal complaints, the son of Senator John McCain’s 2008 vice presidential running mate was charged with 4th degree assault and misconduct involving weapons. According to the 3-page affidavit filed in support of the complaint, Jordan Loewe, Track Palin’s girlfriend, stated he had physically attacked her and threatened to commit suicide with a firearm. “Loewe stated the following: She and her boyfriend of one year, Track Palin, left a different residence together and were arguing the whole way home. Once they got to his home they argued in the car, then in the driveway. They were screaming and he was calling her names. “...Palin approached Loewe and struck her on the left side of her head near her eye with a closed fist. Loewe then got on the ground in a fetal position because she didn’t know what else he would do. Palin then kicked Lowe on the right knee.” The report also noted, “Sergeant Rader ob-
For much too Black contraclong we have al- Louis ‘Hop’ Kendrick tors to be relilowed others to able or trustwordefine us, and thy. The racist they generally answer proequate our orivoked instant gin with slavery. chaos and that These persons is putting it and their demildly. However scents have it was a perfect often defined us example of as lazy, slovenly, drunkards, irresponsi- others defining Black persons. We were ble, no concern for our families, drug in a position to define us to these misaddicts and dealers, and are consumed guided persons and did it so well that with a give me mentality. in the following 90 days a Black corpoThe military branches were all segre- ration was awarded a mega multiple gated, because those in charge defined six-figure contract. us as too cowardly. There was a period It is imperative that we understand of time colleges defined us as not hav- our history well enough that we can ing the degree of intelligence to attend adequately define ourselves. Our hisWhite colleges. Do you remember when tory did not originate from slavery, but Blacks could not play sports at the col- from kings and queens in Africa. We lege level and definitely could not play must instill in ourselves and our chilat the professional level, because we dren that there is nothing that we can’t were thought to be mentality inca- accomplish, instill in our families a pable? sense of self worth, that richness is not In 1997 in my capacity of Director of materialism, but family, friends and Allegheny County MBE there was a good health. There should not be any meeting convened at the Allegheny factor in our lives more important than County Airport about the non-exis- family. Everybody can’t become a chief, tence of contracts being awarded to but let us focus on responsibility and Blacks. We opened the meeting by ask- the understanding that the individual ing the person in charge why were can truly grow into “I am somebody”. (Louis “Hop” Kendrick is a weekly contribuBlacks not awarded contracts? His direct response was that he did not find tor to the Forum page.)
George E. Curry
Commentary served Loewe to have bruising and swelling around her left eye. She complained of pain to that area as well as to her right knee. He observed a small red area near her knee. The involved firearm, an unloaded AR-15 rifle was located on the kitchen counter.” Rather than urging her 26-year-old son to accept personal responsibility for striking his girlfriend with his fist, Sarah Palin chose to blame President Obama, who was more than 4,200 miles away in the nation’s capital. She said her son, an Army reservist who served in Iraq in 2008 under President George W. Bush, was suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “My son like so many others, they come back a bit different, they come back hardened, they come back wondering if there is that respect for what it is that their fellow soldiers and airmen and every other member of the military so sacrificially have given to this country. And that starts from the top. It’s a shame that our military personnel even have to wonder, if they have to question, if they’re respected anymore. It starts from the top. The question though that comes from our own president where they have to look at him and wonder, do you know what we go through? Do you know what we’re trying to do to secure America and to secure the freedoms that have been bequeathed us?” Democratic strategist Donna Brazile said to Anderson Cooper on CNN, “You have known me for a long time, so I’m just gonna say it: she’s a liar. That’s a damn lie.” Brazile said the Republican-controlled House cut more than $1.4 billion that Obama had proposed in a budget for veterans’ services. “I care for all veterans — I am the daughter of a veteran,” she explained. “And to go out there and to insinuate that the president of the United States is trying to hurt veterans when in fact he is trying to put more resources so that we can give our young and old veterans the care we need, that’s just a damn lie. You can say Donna Brazile said it. I approve this message.” Veteran groups also made similar comments. “It’s not President Obama’s fault that Sarah Palin’s son has PTSD,” said Paul Rieckhoff, head of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). “PTSD is a very serious problem, a complicated mental health injury and I would be extremely reluctant to blame any one person in particular.” Another Palin offspring, Bristol, has also proven to be a hypocrite. She earned nearly a million dollars for giving abstinence-only speeches yet had two children out of wedlock. After having her first child as an unwed teen, Bristol Palin became a vocal advocate for teen abstinence, earning $15,000$30,000 per speech. She was 18 when she had her first child, shortly after her mother was selected to become John McCain’s running mate. The family announced that Bristol would be marrying Levi Johnston, the baby’s father, but the couple broke up before sharing wedding vows. Under circumstances strikingly similar to her first pregnancy, 25-year-old Bristol Palin announced last year that she was pregnant a second time after becoming engaged to Dakota Meyer, a Medal of Honor recipient. However, that relationship also ended and the couple never made it to the altar. Of course, the Palins are human like everyone else. But all we expect is that they accept responsibility for their actions—instead of pointing the fingers at everyone except themselves. (George E. Curry is President and CEO of George Curry Media, LLC. He is the former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine and the National Newspaper Publishers Association News Service (NNPA). He can be reached through his Web site, georgecurry.com.)
To Tell The Truth
How should children’s books depict slavery? My title reinhavior is vast carnates the lit- J. Pharoah Doss and there is erary debate of room in between 2011: Should a how the literary publisher reworld depicted place the N-word historical Afriwith “slave” in can American Mark Twain’s characters and classic novel? how it does now. Huckleberry We must be Finn was critimindful that we cized after it was published in 1885 for don’t judge historical figures by modobscenity, atheism, coarse manners, ern viewpoints.” low moral tone, and anti-southernism, The book also contained an appended and after school desegregation in the note explaining that Hercules was a 20th century the novel was condemned real person, considered by some culias racist. nary historians as “the first celebrity The reason was the N-word appeared chef in America” and he eventually esin the novel 219 times. caped but his children remained enProponents of the notion that history slaved their entire lives. fostered self-esteem felt Black students But the writer’s intentions were conshouldn’t be introduced to a character sidered reprehensible and the book that used a dehumanizing term re- was denounced as a false representagardless of the novel’s historical reality. tion of slavery. So the book was banned in most pubBut the realistic representation of the lic schools. N-word in Huckleberry Finn was conThen a Mark Twain scholar sug- sidered too harsh for young readers, gested to a publisher to replace the N- back then the mandate was positive word with “slave”. He said, “After talks images for self-esteem, and now A [on Twain] … [Teachers] said we would Birthday Cake for George Washington love to teach this novel…but we feel we is removed from the market for leaving can’t do it anymore. In the new class- the harshness of slavery out. room, it’s not acceptable.” So a raceHas the audience matured (7-10 year sensitive edition of Huckleberry Finn olds?) or has the mandate changed? was published in 2011. Better yet why is the depiction of the But what else is not acceptable in the brutality of slavery demanded from “new classroom”? this specific book? Recently Scholastic Publishing deOne critic stated “George Washington cided to stop distribution of a children’s became a slaveholder at eleven”, and book (Ages 7-10 32 pages) titled A suggested personal information like Birthday Cake for George Washington this would be a better lesson for stuafter a barrage of bad reviews. dents. There was no N-word, but the illusSo the hostility behind the criticism trator depicted George Washington’s of smiling slaves wasn’t generated by a chef, a slave named Hercules, smiling false depiction of slavery. The book with his daughter while baking for the failed to meet the “new school” expecfirst president. tation of counteracting history by porA School Library Journal reviewer traying a founding father as an evil said the illustrations “covey a feeling of slaveholder. joyfulness that contrasts starkly with The problem here isn’t the book it’s the reality of slave life”. the criticism. It has no literary merit. The writer, a journalist and cook- It all stems from the vantage point of book author, stated: The story was in- social science. Social science analyzes tended to show the “complex and var- how social conditions influence the inied nature of enslaved existence” in- dividual. But the purpose of literature cluding people who had a better qual- is to examine the human condition to ity of life than others and ‘close’ rela- prove human beings are not simple tionships with those who enslaved products of their respective environthem. ments. The writer continued: Enslaved peoMark Twain once said, “I have never ple were often depicted in children’s lit- let my schooling interfere with my ederature as foolish or happily insensible ucation.” But in this case “new schoolof their condition. Counteracting the ing” was the interference. (J. Pharoah Doss is a contributor to the New industry’s previous wrongs were recent books like Henry’s Freedom Box, but Pittsburgh Courier. He blogs at jpharoahthe range of human emotion and be- doss@blogspot.com)
Commentary
Letter To The Editor
Justice for the rich and the poor Dear Editor: Nothing has been more disgraceful than the case of a White teenage who killed four people and did not serve one day in jail because of Affluenza. Well I think poor children who break the law should get the same kind of defense. We’ll call it Poverty-fluenza; that’s because they are underprivileged; they don’t know the difference between
right and wrong. Affluenza vs. Poverty-fluenza—it sounds perfectly fair to me. If Affluenza is used to keep Whites from going to jail, Poverty-fluenza should be use to keep Blacks from doing heavy prison time. Janet Louise Martin East Liberty
Letters to the editor for publication The New Pittsburgh Courier welcomes all responsible viewpoints for publication. All letters should be typewritten and contain writer’s address and phone number for verification. All letters will be edited for clarity and length. Address all letters to: Letters to the Editor, New Pittsburgh Courier, 315 East Carson Street, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15219 You may fax your letter to 412-481-1360, or via e-mail to letters@newpittsburghcourier.com.
A7
Marc H. Morial
To Be Equal
Why I will not watch the Oscars (GEORGE CURRY MEDIA)—“The Academy has a problem. It’s a problem that needs to be solved...For 20 opportunities to celebrate actors of color, actresses of color, to be missed last year is one thing; for that to happen again this year is unforgivable. This institution doesn’t reflect its president...I am an Academy member and it doesn’t reflect me, and it doesn’t reflect this nation.”— David Oyelowo, actor It turns out that Hollywood does, in fact, love a sequel. For the second straight year, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences—the organization behind Hollywood’s biggest and splashiest awards show—failed to nominate a single actor or actress of color in the lead and supporting acting categories. This year, when pay equity and gender equality were as much a Hollywood narrative as anything screened in local movie theaters, women earned more Oscar nominations (up almost 24 percent versus 21 percent in each of the last two years), but they were shut out from the best cinematography and best director categories—again. In a nation as diverse as ours, an Oscars ceremony that neither recognizes nor includes the vast artistic talent and contributions of women and people of color is a white-washed fiction that would better serve us as the premise of a sci-fi feature and not as a mirror of our multicultural reality. While my role is not to question the cinematic credentials of the academy’s 6,291 voting members, I do question how it is that in a season that produced critically-acclaimed films such as “Beasts of No Nation,” which stars Idris Elba as an African warlord; the N.W.A biopic “Straight Outta Compton” and “Creed,” the latest installment in the iconic “Rocky” franchise, there were no Black screenwriters, directors, composers, cinematographers or actors to be found whose contributions deserved academy recognition. Ironically enough, two films helmed by either Black actors and/or directors— “Creed” and “Compton”—were recognized by the academy, but their sole nominations were denied to people of color, with Sylvester Stallone receiving a best supporting actor nod for his role in “Creed” and writers of “Compton” receiving a nomination for best original screenplay. A lot of ink has been spilled citing the composition of the academy and its role in travesties like this year’s copycat lock out of talent from communities of color. A much-cited 2012 survey of the academy by the Los Angeles Times highlights the crux of the problem: the academy’s members are 94 percent White, 77 percent male, and an average age of 63—hardly representative of the diversity we see in the streets and increasingly on our TV screens. There was a push for more inclusion after last year’s infamous snub of the civil rights movie “Selma,” with a record 322 invitations sent to join the academy. The list of invitees included fewer than 20 new African American members, close to 14 Asian and Pacific Islander members and a handful of Latin Americans, according to The Wrap, an industry-insider magazine. Here are a few more statistics you should also take into consideration. In its most recent study, the Bunche Center at UCLA found that film studio heads were 94 percent White and 100 percent male and that film studio senior management was 92 percent White and 83 percent male. The problem is two-fold. The struggle to transform the academy into a diverse body that thoughtfully contemplates and recognizes the work of communities who do not fit the cookie cutter mold is one that must take place within the academy, but change will remain elusive if there is no transformation of White male dominated studio system that decides what gets made— and perhaps most importantly, what doesn’t get made. Major studios are not green-lighting the projects that reflect our nation and the few movies that are produced end up on the cutting room floor of the nomination process. Like so many others, I am stunned by the shut out of people of color across most major awards categories for the second consecutive year. I will continue to add my voice to the public scrutiny necessary to keep this issue on Hollywood’s front burner. And I will also be doing something else this year: I will ignore the Oscars. I am not an Academy Award member. I do not green-light films, nor do I direct them. But I do control what does—or doesn’t—appear on my television screen. If we want Hollywood to tune in to our legitimate concerns and issues, I, for one, will be tuning out. (Marc H. Morial, former mayor of New Orleans, is president and CEO of the National Urban League.)
A8
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
NATIONAL
MICHIGAN NATIONAL GUARD SPECIALIST LONNIE WALKER unloads bottled water and filters to distribute to residents, Jan. 21, in Flint, Mich. The National Guard, state employees, local authorities and volunteers have been distributing lead tests, filters and bottled water during the city’s drinking water crisis. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
SILENT PROTEST—Ahmirah Porter, 9, stands as she joins more than 150 activists outside of City Hall to protest Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's handling of the water crisis, Jan. 8, in Flint. Mich. (Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP)
Would Flint crisis happen in wealthier, Whiter community? by Roger Snyder and Mike Householder Associated Press Writers
FLINT, Mich. (AP)—Ever since the full extent of the Flint water crisis emerged, one question has persisted: Would this have happened in a wealthier, Whiter community? Residents in the former auto-making hub—a poor, largely minority city—feel their complaints about leadtainted water flowing through their taps have been slighted by the government or ignored altogether. For many, it echoes the lackluster federal response to New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. “Our voices were not heard, and that's part of the problem,” Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said at the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in Washington, D.C., where she also met with President Barack Obama to make her case for federal help for her city. The frustration has mostly been directed at Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, who appointed an emer-
gency manager to run Flint. That manager approved a plan in 2013 to begin drawing drinking water from the Flint River, and the city began doing so the next year. But officials failed to treat the corrosive water properly to prevent metal leaching from old pipes. Snyder, a Republican in his second term, was blasted by Hillary Clinton in her remarks after the recent Democratic presidential debate. “We've had a city in the United States of America where the population, which is poor in many ways and majority African American, has been drinking and bathing in lead-contaminated water. And the governor of that state acted as though he didn't really care,'' Clinton said. Snyder “had requests for help that he had basically stone-walled. I’ll tell you what: If the kids in a rich suburb of Detroit had been drinking contaminated water and being bathed in it, there would’ve been action.” Flint residents complained loudly and often
about the water quality immediately after the switch but were repeatedly told it was safe. They didn’t learn the water was tainted until the state issued warnings a year and a half later. Now families fear for their health and especially for the future of their children, who can develop learning disabilities and behavior problems from lead exposure. Snyder, who has apologized for the mishandling of the situation, declined a request by The Associated Press for an interview on Jan. 21. But in response to Clinton’s remarks, he said the former secretary of state should not make Flint a political issue. His staff issued a statement to AP that cited his efforts in urban areas such as Detroit, which also has a large Black population. An emergency manager appointed by Snyder led that city through bankruptcy in 2013-14. “Bringing Detroit back to a solid fiscal foundation has allowed the city to restore services, and we’ve watched its economy grow, creating
jobs and better opportunities,” the statement said. Snyder has also “focused on improving education in all our cities, knowing that students need to not just graduate, but graduate with indemand skills as they compete in a global economy.” Snyder’s staff also noted his signing of Medicaid expansion, which provided health care coverage to 600,000 low-income adults. Flint, a city about 75 miles north of Detroit, is the birthplace of General Motors and once had 200,000 residents. In the early 1970s, the automaker employed 80,000 blue- and white-collar workers in the area. Fewer than 8,000 GM jobs remain, and the city’s population has dropped to just below 100,000, with a corresponding rise in property abandonment and poverty. The city is 57 percent Black, and 42 percent of its people live in poverty. The decline of GM jobs “left a lot of people destitute and desperate, and they feel like their voices aren’t being heard. It just adds to the frustration,” said Phil Rashead,
66, of Flint, who is White. Paul Mohai, a professor at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, has studied environmental burdens and their disproportionate impact on low-income and minority communities since the late 1990s. He said Flint is a classic case of minority and low-income residents confronting an environmental issue and that “it may be one of the biggest environmental justice disasters we’ve seen in a long time.” “What’s kind of clear is that they’ve been vocalizing their concerns and the response has been rather weak,” he said. Former Flint Mayor Dayne Walling, who lost his re-election bid in November amid the water crisis, said newly released emails by Snyder showed that the governor’s staffers disregarded Flint’s plight because of the city’s demographics. “There are a number of indications that concerns of Flint’s elected leaders and faith and community leaders were being dismissed as political posturing instead of taken seriously as efforts
to address very real problems,” said Walling, who is white and was first elected mayor in 2009. Frustrations boiled over at a weekend protest outside City Hall. “They would never do this to Bloomfield. They would never do this to Ann Arbor. They would never do this to Farmington Hills,” filmmaker and Flint native Michael Moore said, referring to much wealthier Michigan communities. He called for Snyder’s ouster and arrest. Moore also cited deaths from Legionnaires’ disease recorded in the Flint area over the past two years and only announced publicly last week by Snyder. The state has not linked them to Flint’s waters, but others disagree. “Let’s call this what it is,” Moore said. “It’s not just a water crisis. It’s a racial crisis. It’s a poverty crisis. That’s what this is, and that’s what created this.” (Roger Schneider reported from Detroit. Associated Press writers Jesse Holland in Washington and David Eggert in Lansing, Michigan, also contributed.)
New Pittsburgh Courier
duo enhances Pittsburgh fashion B6
ReFined
LIFESTYLES
annual candlelight service B2
Rapha Ministries’
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
www.newpittsburghcourier.com
B
Debbie Norrell
Lifestyles Report
‘U Send Me Swinging’ Earlier this month, the Pittsburgh community was saddened to find out about the death of Kris Kelley, the former mid-day personality and music director at WAMO during the mid-90s. I had the pleasure of working with Kelley and loved watching her work and listening to her on the air. We worked in adjacent studios with a glass wall that allowed us to see into each other’s workspace. Her voice was as beautiful as she was. One day, Kelley received a beautiful bouquet of flowers at the studio and the card simply read, “U Send Me Swinging.” I think the ladies in the studio were impressed with that beautiful message, at least I was impressed that this cleaver admirer would sign the card with the title of a track from the Mint Condition album, “The Mint Factory.” Kelley went on to bigger and better things, and worked in Detroit and Chicago. According to radiofacts.com, it has been learned from industry resources, via the coroner, that Kelley, who was found dead in her apartment, choked while eating in her apartment alone. Reportedly Kelley had not been in touch with a majority of the industry for months. When I found out the cause of her death, I thought how often we all eat alone and what would I do in a case like this. There have been many times where food, or even water, goes down the wrong way and I have choked to the point of tears. Sometimes I am so hungry that I eat my food too fast to even enjoy it. My personal advice is to take time and chew your food when you are eating, and if you do choke, hopefully you will remember not to panic. I logged into several websites and here is the advice that is given if you are alone and choking. First, call 911 or your local emergency number immediately. Then, although you’ll be unable to effectively deliver back blows to yourself, you can still perform abdominal thrusts to dislodge the item. Place a fist slightly above your navel. Grasp your fist with the other hand and bend over a hard surface—a countertop or chair will do. Shove your fist inward and upward. When former WAMO coworkers found out about the death of Kelley, aka Lavonne Battle, we conducted a virtual reunion via Facebook and instant messenger, promising to get together at some time in the future in person. This online gathering brought back memories for those of us that had the pleasure of working with Kelley at WAMO. Popular radio personalities and behind the scenes greats, like Al B. Slyk, Jay Jay, Jay Harris, Taylor Diaz, Frank Greenlee, Kiki, Dr. Michael Lynn, Anji, producer Harriet Freeman, Tracey Lynn, Sabrina Clark and Mark Gunn joined the conversation. Some even made plans to attend the services in Philadelphia, Pa., Kelley’s home town, on Jan. 29. I pray for the family and the hundreds of friends that plan to make the journey. As for a “real WAMO” reunion, I’m in. Rest in Peace Kris Kelley. (Email the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com)
HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY—Monica Lamar
GIRLS WITH PEARLS—Evelyn McMullen Stephens, Ladora Jamison and Agnes Curry
LOVELY LONG STRANDS OF PEARLS— Carol Moore
Girls with pearls say Happy Birthday FLOTUS by Debbie Norrell Courier Staff Writer
BEAUTIFUL PEARLS—CAROLYN PETERSON (Photos by Debbie Norrell)
Maybe you saw it on Facebook or perhaps you marked it on your calendar from a previous year, but Jan. 17, was Michelle Obama’s fifty second birthday. Ladies around the world honored her and wished her a happy birthday from afar by wearing pearls. There is actually a Facebook page called, “Girls With Pearls,” that is dedicated to First Lady Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama. If you look at her photographs you will see that she loves to wear pearls and beautiful necklaces. The creators of the Facebook page have no ties to the first lady or the White House. On the days surrounding Jan. 17, there were no shortage of ladies wearing pearls supporting the first African American first lady. The New Pittsb u r g h Courier spotted a group of Girls With Pearls at the DoubleTree in Monroeville at the Delta Card Party on Jan. 16, and they all wanted to say “Happy Birthday, fi r s t lady.” FLOTUS—THE BIRTHDAY GIRL
A PAIR IN PEARLS—Colleen McMullen and Brenda Sims
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FLOTUS—Carol Brackett and Christina Wilds
CYNTHIA FRANKLIN, DOTTIE DEBOW AND MARIE FRANCIS
B2
RELIGION
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016 NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
Praise & Worship
Church Circuit
HILLCREST SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH 2340 Wylie Ave., Pgh., PA 15219 412-391-4334 412-566-8787
Teen Bash
JAN. 29—Macedonia Baptist Church of Pittsburgh, 2225 Bedford Ave., Hill District, will host its Teen Bash 2016 at 6:30 p.m. The theme is “G.O.T. F.I.R.E. (God Over Thoughts Feelings Image Relationships Everything)?” The featured guest will be Uncle Reece, along with other artists. There will also be competitions and giveaways. For more information, call 412281-8437 or email info@ macedoniapgh.org.
“Be Encouraged”
Elder Christopher C. Thompson Power Hour Sabbath...............8:15 A.M. Sabbath School........................9:00 A.M. Divine Worship......................11:00 A.M. AYS One Hour Before Sunset Prayer Meeting Wednesday......7:30 P.M.
ST. BENEDICT THE MOOR CATHOLIC CHURCH Crawford & Centre Ave. Pgh., PA 15219 412-281-3141 Mass Sunday 9:00 A.M. & Noon
Friendship Luncheon
Sunday (Gospel Choir Mass) Noon www.stbtmchurch.org
METROPOLITAN BAPTIST CHURCH 22 Sampsonia Street, Northside Pittsburgh, PA 15212 412-231-2554 FAX 412-231-6395 Rev. Lacy F. Richardson, Ph.D., Pastor Church School.................................9:30 A.M. Worship Service.................8:00 & 10:45 A.M. Bible Study/ Prayer Wednesday...................6:30/7:30 P.M. www.metropolitanbaptistchurch.com metropolitanbaptist2224@gmail.com
SIXTH MOUNT ZION BAPTIST CHURCH 6556 Shetland Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206 (412) 441-7839 Church School Worship Service Wednesday Night Bible Study
9:00 a.m. 10:15 a.m. 6:00 p.m.
East Liberty Presbyterian Church Rev. Dr. Randy Bush, Senior Pastor 412-441-3800 116 S. Highland Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206
www.cathedralofhope.com Christmas Eve Services will be at 5 p.m. & 11 p.m. Journey Worship........8:45 a.m. Sanctuary Worship.......11 a.m.
Join our growing Praise and Worship Church Community
CANDLELIGHT VIGIL—Church members and the community, along with police, singing songs of praise on the front steps of Rapha Ministries, in Homewood, during a candlelight vigil with Rev. Jeremiah Thomas, wearing black, in front on the right. (Photos by J. L. Martello)
Rapha Ministries’ annual candlelight service by Michael B. Rose For New Pittsburgh Courier
Rapha Ministries assembled to sing Christmas carols, pray and lift the community of Homewood up recently to emphasize that Jesus Christ is the reason for the Christmas season. Reverend Jeremiah L. Thomas, pastor of Rapha Ministries, is celebrating his 20th year in Homewood. He has seen ups and downs in a community famous for chalk outlines and grieving mothers, and shattered families at the hands of triggers with anonymous fingers pulling them. “Rapha means healing,” said Rev. Thomas. When asked how he can help heal the families in Homewood, he said simply, “It has to be jobs, the economy.” Believing his work is essential to his community, he has tried to continue the legacy of the church from the 1950s and ‘60s when they were at the forefront of the civil rights movement and a primary organizer for education and fundraising before
GABRIEL JENKINS Praying portunities for people who are talented like that.” One of the reasons Rev. Thomas says the church has to lead is because of what he calls “red tape” with local politicians. He has asked them for basketball courts, tennis courts and a playground. He even asked a prominent basketball player to donate a park, to the same result. “They laughed at me. I know a particular guy who
just got a $35 million contract. He laughed at me,” he said. “There is a Councilman around the corner who has a lot of money. He is really sticky with the money. I guess it’s going to Squirrel Hill or other neighborhoods. We don’t have a super market. [We] Have to go to Squirrel Hill and East Hills to go shopping.” Reverend Thomas also works with the physically handicapped. His ministry has undeveloped land he would like to get funding to develop. “My vision is to have a 50-unit assisted living complex,” he said. Reverend Thomas isn’t just content to pray for things to get better, that is why he and Rapha Ministries chose to go out and take the Christmas spirit directly to the people. “We don’t have inside church for this,” he said. “This is a time for the church to come outside. We are the light. Jesus came to be the light of the world so the church is the light of the world.” They sang “Oh Come All
JAN. 30—New Birth Baptist Church, 406 W. Grant St., Duquesne, will host its Friendship Luncheon from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. The last Saturday of the month, members of New Birth invite the community from the tri-state area to a delicious lunch, a clothing giveaway for the needy and an enlightening discussion. For more information, call 412-466-2229.
Music in a Great Space
JAN. 31—Shadyside Presbyterian Church, 5121 Westminster Place, Oakland, will host its Music in a Great Space Concert Series at 3 p.m. The event will feature pianist Nathan Carterette performing Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Goldberg Variations.” For more information, call 412-682-4300 or visit www.shadysidepres. org.
Scholarship Tea
LAYLAH ROBINSON Praying Ye Faithful” and “Joy to the World,” and prayed and honored the Pittsburgh Police force with a love gift. They gave shirts with a police badge on the sleeve and hats from Whatever the Challenge Don’t Quit Clothing Store, a reminder that police and citizens alike in a new year must learn to trust and forgive each other. (J.L. Martello also contributed to this article.)
FEB. 20—The Allegheny Union Baptist Association’s Congress of Education will host its annual William A. Arvin Scholarship Tea at 12 p.m. at Morningstar Baptist Church, 307 Shaw Ave., Clairton, Pa. The theme is “The Music From The Word.” For more information, email Susie Gibson at susiegibson.sg@gmail.com.
(To have items listed on the Church Circuit, send information at least two weeks in advance to: 315 E. Carson St., Pittsburgh, PA 15219; Fax: 412-481-1360 or e-mail: newsroom@newpittsburghcourier. com.)
For rate information, call 412-4818302, ext. 128. We are looking to feature
UNITED––Church members, police officers and the community gathering on the steps of Rapha Ministries in Homewood.
our positive youth in the church communities. You can e-mail, fax or mail their bios and photo to: New Pittsburgh Courier 315 E. Carson St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Fax: 412-481-1360 email: egaines@newpittsburghcourier.com
that. Today, however, Rev. Thomas believes the community is lacking leadership and that the leadership has to come from the church. “The church has always been the pillar of the community,” he said. “It’s a breakdown of the family. Drugs are the number one culprits, causing unemployment, poverty.” Reverend Thomas believes there are a lot of Jay –Zs in the community with misguided energy. They would rather not have to break the law but feel that to make the kind of money that would allow them to live a lavish life, they feel they have to. “I had a young man that was making $5,000 a week before he came into the church. The money was addictive,” he said. Telling them, “If you can do that, you can be like Jay-Z and make real businesses. The church needs to create op-
Haddon releases ‘Masterpiece’
(NEW YORK, N.Y.)—Three-time Grammy nominated, multiple Stellar and Dove Award-winning inspirational artist, songwriter, producer and Pastor Deitrick Haddon has released his eighth studio album, “Masterpiece.” Released through DH Visions/Entertainment One Music, this album serves as the follow up to 2013’s “R.E.D.,” which opened at No. 1 on Billboard’s Gospel Chart. A mixture of gospel, hip-hop, R&B and reggae, the first single, “Restore Me Again,” is receiving acclaim from critics and fans leading to anticipation for “Masterpiece.” Composed of 16 soulful and inspirational tracks, Haddon expects this album to motivate and inspire, helping people to understand reason and purpose in life. Haddon has said, “Our lives are a work of art. God has a way of making the good, the bad and the ugly all make sense.” Adding, “Every season we’ve lived through are small pieces of a carefully orchestrated puzzle designed by God himself! I believe when it’s all said and done we will understand the journey better, see the big picture and declare it is a beautiful masterpiece!”
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
PEOPLE
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
B3
GLADYS NESBITT lights the unity candles at Sankofa Village’s Kwanzaa 2015. (Photos by Gail Manker) MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY UNITE in Harambe at Sankofa Village’s 2015 Kwanzaa event.
Ujamaa Collective celebrates Kwanzaa 2015
SANKOFA VILLAGE DRUMMERS AND DANCERS performed for the community at the Kwanzaa celebration.
COMMUNITY MEMBERS ended the Ujamaa Collective’s Kwanzaa 2015 with a special dance.
CELETA HICKMAN, founder of the Ujamaa Collective, greets the GORDON MANKER cutting a rug at the Ujamaa Collective’s Kwan- HUBERTA JACKSON-LOWMAN pours libation at the Ujamaa Colleccommunity at Ujamaa Collective’s Kwanzaa celebration. zaa 2015 celebration. tive’s Kwanzaa event held at the Grayson Center, in the Hill.
DAWN SURGEST at the arts and crafts table at the Ujamaa Collective’s Kwanzaa 2015 event.
ENTERTAINER New Pittsburgh Courier
B4
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
www.newpittsburghcourier.com
Cover To Cover
‘Best Friends Forever’
by Terri Schlickenmeyer For New Pittsburgh Courier
You’d do almost anything for your best friend. You’d take a bullet, take her in, or take her anywhere she needed to go. You keep her kids and her confidences. And, as in the new novel, “Best Friends Forever” by Kimberla Lawson Roby, she’d do the same for you. Probably. Celine Richardson was absolutely furious at her husband, Keith. RIDE ALONG—From left: Kevin Hart, Ken Jeong and Ice Cube. It was bad enough that he came home at 5 a.m., but lying about where he’d been was the last straw. It was obvious that Keith was cheating on Celine—but what Celine couldn’t figure out was why. He claimed that she acted by Merecedes J. Howze less than 24 months, Det. James Payton (Cube) and his like she never had time for For New Pittsburgh Courier future brother-in-law, Ben him, and Celine had to adLet’s rewind back to Mar- (Hart), are back and fighting tin Luther King Jr., week- crime together in Miami. end 2014. Just two years “Ride Along 2” was pretenago, “Ride Along,” starring tious. Hit hard by the sophIce Cube and Kevin Hart, omore jinx, the film failed was the No. 1 movie for to reach the same laughter three weeks in a row. and excitement as the first The film was the largest one. I just expected more. debut in MLK weekend box Ken Jeong was a nice office history, earning $48.6 added bonus. But, the few million. chuckles he provided did Fast forward to today, in not make up for the pre-
Review…Ride Along 2: Marginally disappointing
mit that she’d been awfully busy for the last few months. Building her business took a lot of her time, but didn’t they have date nights? Sure, she’d been preoccupied now and then, but when they sent their 10-year-old daughter, Kassie, to spend the weekend with Celine’s best friend, Lauren, didn’t Celine and Keith spend alone-time together? They did, but that wasn’t good enough for him. He was cheating on Celine with some tramp, but he wouldn’t come out and admit it. And yet—that wasn’t the worst thing in Celine’s life. Just a few days before Keith’s first lie, she found a lump in her breast and, after rounds of doctor visits and too many tests, her worst fears were confirmed. It was malignant, but Keith was full of excuses why he couldn’t accompany her to the hospital and Celine knew instantly that she could never again rely on her husband for support. Still, she wasn’t alone. With the help of her best friend and her brother—and no thanks to her no-good, absent husband— she’d be just fine. But Keith wasn’t done, and neither was cancer. Celine’s recovery didn’t go well, and her soon-to-be-ex had a bombshell to share, one that she sensed wasn’t the whole story. And just when Celine thought she couldn’t take any more, Lauren spoke her mind… Friendship, as you know, is never one-sided. It’s a giveand-take, and that includes “Best Friends Forever.” From the very first scene in which a delicious scandal erupts, author Roby gives her fans a story that’s sordid and scary but also, in an odd way, spiritually uplifting. Roby’s Celine is a strong, God-loving woman who’s totally out of patience, but I enjoyed that she’s given a lifeline as well as two surprises, one right after the other. While that ultimately leads to what I felt was an abrupt ending that left me hanging, it also gave me hope that we haven’t heard the last of these characters.
dictable plot and Ice Cube’s corny punch lines. Again, I not only expected more, I wanted more. Ice Cube, whose resume reeks of sequel, likes to keep a good thing going. The NWA rapper did it with “Friday” (1995), “Are We There Yet?” (2005), “Barbershop” (2002), and “21 Jump Street” (2012). Despite my obvious dislike, the numbers don’t lie. “Ride Along 2” came out
victorious opening weekend with earnings of $41.5 million. The comedy finally knocked “Stars Wars: The Force Awakens” out of the No. 1, which had been holding onto the top spot since its Dec. 18 release. Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, and Universal Pictures are excellent at marketing, specifically on social media. Both superstars already have a huge fan bases in life and on social media.
So, between the press tour, social media posts, and the first Ride Along the sequel had a decent recipe for success. Ice Cube was on my timeline every single day, pressing hard for this movie. The strong push paid off. Overall, the actual movie was not die hard funny at all but I could appreciate the quick giggles I did receive. 2 Stars for the 2 laughs
Former CHIC lead singer debuts as headliner during solo performance
by Timothy Cox
For New Pittsburgh Courier
WASHINGTON, D.C.— On Jan. 21, the Bethesda Blues & Jazz Supper Club, served as the venue to portray the talents of one of Washington, D.C.’s unsung super-talents—Sylver Logan Sharp. Though Sharp may not be a house-hold name in the DMV, in the internationally-acclaimed music industry, her vocal talents are widely apparent. For nearly 20 years, she worked stages throughout North America, Europe and the Orient—as lead singer of the legendary disco/pop band, CHIC. Sharp explains that her tenure with the group began in 1991, when co-founders Nile Rodgers and the late Bernard Edwards wanted to re-form the band from its hey days of the late 1970s. “At one point, I was working the local D.C. circuit, and the next—I did an audition with Nile and Bernard. They liked what they heard, and hired me on the spot. I accepted the gig, but told them I still had some commitments at home I needed to fulfifll.” Specifically, Sharp had been working with several local bands, including an all-girl group named Euphoria. She needed to return to D.C. and to accept a local award from an organization called the Washington Area Music Association, who was nominated for an award known as the WAMMIES. “I’ve been around, but I still credit my D.C. musicians for helping make me what I am. And that includes all my homies in the Go-Go world,” she added. She notes that she helped her friend and keyboardist, “Sweet Cherie Mitchell-Agurs land the keyboard job with CHIC. Cherie currently performs with DCbased all-girl GO-GO band, Bela Donna, and formerly (“Best Friends Forever” by held the keyboard chair Kimberla Lawson Roby, c.2016, with Go-Go Godfather, the Grand Central Publishing, late Chuck Brown. She still $20/$24 Canada, 183 pages.) gigs with the Chuck Brown
SYLVER LOGAN SHARP WITH NILE RODGERS Tribute Band. Back to Sharp, she describes her early beginnings as a blend between learning the opera/classical stylings of Kathleen Deanna Battle and Jessye Norman, in addition to the R&B, jazz soulful chops of her mentor Jean Carne. As a self-proclaimed child of the arts, Sharp’s career started humbly as the daughter of a classically-trained dance teacher, Paula Potts. “By age 4, I was learning tap, ballet and jazz dance from my mother. I was a busy child,” she fondly recalls. Sharp’s family pedigree is notable, considering her grandfather is Dr. John Foster Potts Sr., a former president of the prestigious Vorhees College, a historically Black college in Denmark, SC. Potts, a Benedict College graduate in Columbia, S.C., eventually became assistant principal at Columbia’s Booker T. Washington High School and in 1936, moved to Gary, Ind to teach at Roosevelt High
School—the high school of Michael Jackson and The Jackson Five. Dr. Potts received his Master’s degree from Cornell University in 1937 and ultimately married Muriel Logan and raised five children, including Sharp’s mother, Paula Potts. Sharp proudly proclaims herself as a “Southern DC Girl,” who was born in Charleston, S.C. “I’m very proud of my Southern roots,” she adds. A significant portion of the Potts family still reside in their ancestral environs of Western North Carolina. Sharp says she is likewise proud to carry on both her grandmothers’ maiden names of Logan and Sharp. “I spent all of my summers as a child in the South. Every summer we went to East Flat Rock, N.C.—near Hendersonville, N.C., where I went to elementary school.” She also spent a significant amount of time in Charleston. “As a small child, my mother moved us to
DC,” she said. Eventually, her talents would lead her to matriculate to the highly acclaimed Duke Ellington School of the Arts High School. “That’s where I got a chance to meet so many talented people, from all over the city,” she said. As a kid, she primarily grew up in the city’s Northeastern section, and also spent vital developmental years in Prince Georges County, Maryland. She eventually met a Philly-based publicist and radio personality named Dyana R. Williams, a regular contributor to the UNSUNG TV show (of the legendary Gamble & Huff music production team in Philadelphia.) Williams knew of CHIC’s interest in auditioning new singers to re-tool the group and connected Sharp with the audition opportunity. During her years with CHIC, Sharp said she was provided an unforgettable opportunity to see the world, meet top musician, while working to develop
her own craft. She appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Storytellers on VH-1, the Ellen DeGeneres Show with Kid Rock, and Larry the Cable Guy’s Christmas Special. She has also recorded with and shared stages with Roberta Flack, Patti LaBelle, Michael Bolton, Ledisi, Whoopi Goldberg, Italian singer-songwiter, the late Pino Daniele and earned a Grammy Award singing background with Yolanda Adams on a live LP at Constitution Hall in DC, she says. In 2010, she decided the time had come to leave CHIC and forge ahead with her own solo career. Sharp is no stranger to solo recording success. In 2005 she released “All This Time”a house-music hit with DJ Jonathan Peters. The song charted for several weeks in the Billboard dance category, she said. Four years later, she released her debut solo CD, “Place To Begin.” produced by noted songwriter Daryl L.A. Hunt. Her current single, “Little Things,” from the aforementioned CD, was recently released in late 2015. Her first solo CD titled “The Groovement,” recorded live in Stockholm, Sweden, is scheduled for release early in 2016. The debut single, “Little Things,” from the CD, is now available on www.itunes.com. “With the way the music industry has developed, with the new technology— musicians are now free to do what they want. There’s no more being stifled by record companies who own you, your music and what directions you’d like to go in. It’s a new day—and I’m just blessed that I’m around to enjoy the new energy.” In addition to her musical talents, Sharp also owns a jewelry line simply known as SYLVERWEAR. Her clients include Sir Elton John, Chaka Khan, Nile Rodgers, her friend and acclaimed drummer Omar Hakim (Sting and Journey) and the late Donna Summer.
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
January-February Thursday 28 Humanae/ I AM AUGUST The August Wilson Center presents “Humanae/I AM AUGUST” at the August Wilson Center, 980 Liberty Ave., Cultural District. The exhibition is a local adaptation of Brazilian photographer Angélica Dass’ “Humanae” project, which features more than 2,500 photos in public spaces around the world. The local project, “I AM AUGUST,” includes a collection of community stories, performances and events, and takes a first step toward a vision for an August Wilson Center that boldly celebrates community in the spirit of the center’s namesake, August Wilson. For more information, call 412-338-8742 or visit www.trustarts.org.
Friday 29 Jazz at Andys Andys Wine Bar at the Fairmont Pittsburgh Hotel presents Jazz at Andys from 5-12 a.m. at 510 Market St., Downtown. The evening will feature its Vinyl Fridays Happy Hour with DJ Malls spinning the vinyl from 5-7:30. Following the happy hour, there will be a musical performance by Andy Fite. It is open to the public. For more information, visit www.andyswinebar.com.
Saturday 30 Ramon Valle MCG Jazz presents Ramone Valle at 8 p.m. at the Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild, 1815 Metropolitan St., Manchester. Cuban pianist Ramon Valle, also known as the other face of Cuban jazz, is an international entertain who will dazzle the audience with his unexpected Latin rhythms. He will perform original works as well as put his spin on several jazz/pop classical standards. For more information, call 412-323-4000.
Sunday 31 Webs theatriQ Youth Ensemble and Dreams of Hope Queer Youth Arts presents “Webs” at 2 p.m. at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater’s Alloy Studios, 5530 Penn Ave., East Liberty. This original piece weaves storytelling from ancient Greece to Tumblr in this production about two queer youths who meet online, discuss Greek myths and the echoes of their own lives they find there. The two struggle to make a narrative that includes their whole selves through a post, a story, a selfie, a song. This production will run Jan. 29-31. For more information, call 412-363-3000.
ARTS & CULTURE
New Releases Badu album debuts at #1
( D a l l a s ) — Fo u r- t i m e Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Erykah Badu’s newest music project, “But You Caint Use My Phone,” has debuted at #1 on the iTunes R&B album charts. The album also shot up to #2 on the overall iTunes album chart (right next to Adele), and has landed at #1 on both the overall Apple Music Streaming Charts and Apple R&B Streaming Charts. Released as an Apple exclusive, the icon’s mixtape is expected to debut highly on the Billboard Album Charts.
Chaz French (New York)— Rising DC–based artist Chaz French announce the release of his new mixtape, “These Things Take Time.” The 14-track project features recently released singles, “Remember,” “IDK” and the latest, “Ready” via 368 Music Group (CCCLXVIII). In conjunction with the mixtape release, French drops the visual to his virally buzzing single, “Remember.”
Monday 1 Black History Month Exhibit Opening Citiparks presents its “A History on Film: A Tribute to African American Contribution to Film” Black History Month Exhibit Opening from 6-8 p.m. at the City-County Building, Lobby, 414 Grant St., Downtown. Through Feb. 29, the exhibit will depict the evolution of the roles that Black actors and actresses have played from the 1910s to present day. It will salute the first African Americans to win Oscar and Emmy Awards. The opening ceremony will include a reception, remarks by Mayor William Peduto and a performance by Bobby Short. Also, Pittsburghers working in the film industry will receive a certificate of recognition. For more information, call 412-255-8983.
Tuesday 2 JazzLive The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust presents JazzLive at 5 p.m. at the Backstage Bar at Theater Square, 655 Penn Ave., Cultural District. Every Tuesday, guests can enjoy a free live jazz series that showcases some of the region’s finest jazz musicians. The George Jones New View Trio will be the featured entertainer. For more information, call 412456-6666 or visit www.trustarts.org.
Wednesday 3 Wednesday Night Live The Rivers Club presents its Wednesday Night Live Jazz Supper Club from 5:30-8 p.m. at the Rivers Club, One Oxford Centre, 301 Grant St., Downtown. Every Wednesday, the Rivers Club will host local jazz artists along with a Jimmy G’s Jazz Buffett. The attire requested is business casual. Reservations are requested. For more information, call 412-3915227 or www.riversclub.weebly.com.
Christina Milian Two-time GRAMMY-nominated singer, songwriter and actress, Christina Mil-
ian, has released the official video to her single, “Like Me”—the third video release off a fourtrack EP ti-
tled, “4U” (previous video releases include “Rebel” and “Do It” ft. Lil Wayne). The “Miss Independent” visual that features Snoop Dogg premiered as part of
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
Christina’s E! docu-series “Christina Milian Turned Up” and captures Milian as a sexy, yet professional and irreplaceable, boss lady who helms up her multiple busi-
B5
ness ventures and still makes time for that special lover in her life! “Like Me” was released officially under Christina’s imprint, MilianHeiress Music.
B6
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
ARTS & CULTURE
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
ReFined Culture duo enhancing Pittsburgh fashion DIANNE LEMON
by Paige Mitchell
For New Pittsburgh Courier
The dynamic mother-son duo, Dianne and Jaylee Lemon of ReFined Culture, are enhancing fashion, art, and style in the city of Pittsburgh. “For a fresh, innovative and straight forward approach to model coaching ReFined Culture brings a new understanding and light to the fashion, art, and style locally
MOTHER-SON DUO
and nationally,” said Innovator and owner, Dianne Lemon. Their target market of clients are between the ages of 14-19, which is the standard age bracket of those within the modeling industry. Assisting both women and men, ReFined Culture is committed to the world of fashion and creativity. They hold yearly events that showcase designers, models, style icons, runway training, and presenting new brands in fashion and beauty.
”A graduate of our three-part runway training, having no modeling experience, not even walking in a pair of high heels, gained the skill and technique along with confidence that catapulted her and her family to pursue IMG @weloveyourgenes and she was chosen. Only 14 years old, beautiful and equipped, and was on the front cover of Teen Vogue. We have others who have gotten into agencies too,” Dianne said. Both, Dianne and Jaylee, have an extensive background in the fashion and beauty industry, they have 35 years combined. Dianne was the first Black manager for Clarins Cosmetics with Lord & Taylor, and working with SEPHORA becoming a traveling trainer, also, co-owning her own highend consignment Boutique. While Jaylee studied fashion marketing in Los Angeles and landed his first internship with the Golden Globes, he started at 16 years of age working in ChaMELeon doing a visual display and image consulting. Jaylee held a position as backstage manager for A Fashion for 5 1/2 years, and spent two seasons with Donna Karen as a lead and Alexander Wang during their
JAYLEE LEMON
market week. ReFined Culture wants to enhance and expand fashion and beauty in Pittsburgh, bringing unique creativity. “It doesn’t have to match, just make sense. We promote authenticity, celebrate pure style and practice industry standard professionalism while exploration of new talent to showcase and new ways to celebrate fashion,” Jaylee said. “We believe that we have been embraced by the fashion culture of Pittsburgh, there are still areas belonging to the old guard, and the suspected Glass Ceiling is real, which make collaboration challenging,” Dianne said. “Being a Black-owned business in Pittsburgh is interesting, an interesting place to live, especially a fashion driven presence. We are working to become better, reach outside the lines and collaborate more and we believe support shall follow.” Dianne and Jaylee see their company being one of the leading model coaching and production companies nationally and internationally. ReFined Culture has already expanded to New York, Philadelphia, and Dallas.
New Pittsburgh Courier
Inside Conditions C3
BUSINESS JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
www.newpittsburghcourier.com
Find what you need from jobs to cars to housing C5-C6
Classifieds
C
Riverside Center for Innovations transforming businesses for success by Diane I. Daniels
but everything will be conducive to the medical field.” For New Pittsburgh Courier Several noted businesses loIn the world of business, cated in the 11,000 square two important components foot per floor incubator space are resources and collaboraat 700 River Avenue or adtions. Both entities Juan vancing from services proGarrett knows very well. vided by RCI include BookFor the near quarter of a minders, CMG Media Vencentury that the Riverside tures, Cosmos Technologies, Center for Innovation has Sabio Springs Water and been evolving he has had an Ward Computer Services, Inc. affiliation with the organiWith a service area coverzation and has been assisting Southwestern Pennsyling in its development as vania, Garrett says he has well as in the starting and plans to conduct enadvancing small businesses. trepreneurial trainings in In 1991 Garrett began his Clairton, Baldwin and in the career at the RCI as an acBraddock Rankin area countant. Through time he around the Carrie Furnace advanced to fiscal manager, site. Last year in conjuncdeputy director and last tion with the McKeesport year became the executive Downtown Business Authordirector upon the retireity, the Mon Yough Chamber ment of long time director of Commerce, the University Emily Buka. of Pittsburgh Institute for “It has been a very rewardEntrepreneurial Excellence ing experience being here. I and the Healthy Village Inhave seen a lot of enstitute for Learning Commutrepreneurs following their nity Center he conducted a dreams and through their 12-week New Business-New tenacity many jobs have Beginnings entrepreneurial been created,” said Garrett. training class that he According to an RCI impact deemed very successful. “The study since 2000, they have Mon Valley he says is an assisted more than 4,500 area with a lot of potential, entrepreneurs and their A WELCOMING ADVENTURE—For 24 years the Riverside Center for Innovation and newly appointed executive director Juan Garrett but almost untouched. Our tenants and clients have have been serving as a leader in the transformation of Southwestern Pennsylvania. aim is to provide more progenerated $521.2 million in gramming in such undereconomic impact and created 1,819 jobs. according to Garrett is for participants to velopment Center. Aiming to provide the served communities.” With the mission to be a leader in the become better prime and subcontractors necessary assistance to make the project Areas west of Pittsburgh bordering the transformation of Southwestern Pennsylva- and stable enough to hire from under- successful, Garrett said a mentoring com- Ohio River are also a focus of the RCI. A nia to an entrepreneurial culture and spirit served communities. “We want these com- ponent, bonding assistance, front and back state designated enterprise zone encomGarrett says, “Our programs provide ser- panies to become better MWBE firms for end office support, website assistance and passing McKees Rocks, Neville Island and, vices that help grow small businesses into a the upcoming construction projects sched- access to capital are essential elements. Stowe Township, he says is just one examThe specialty food incubator, in its in- ple. Working with the McKees Rocks Comsustainable enterprise. Aside from provid- uled for the region within the next few ing office spaces to MWDBE and Veteran years including developments in the Hill fancy stage Garrett says will be a collabo- munity Development Corporation Garrett ration with caterers, entrepreneurs in food says provides the opportunity to assist in entrepreneurs we assist them in gaining ac- District and Homewood.” cess to networking opportunities, seminars, the development of light industrial and In the developmental stages Biz Fit is a service and restaurants. The Brick House Health program, also in manufacturing projects. and provide a wide range of resources.” combined idea of Keith B. Key of KBK EnRCI services include low-cost leasing and terprises. Major construction firms collabo- the beginning stages is designed for those in Enterprise Zoning and Brownfield Redeoffice support, consulting, technology train- rating on the project include PJ Dick, the medical and health field. “We have had a velopment is also something RCI is ining programs, aid in commercial real estate Mascro, 84 Lumber and DCK World Wide. few successful medical firms come through volved with. “We are helping to transactions and business plan prepara- Other organizations involved in the three this building so we want to connect better stabilize communities by assisting the tion. Garrett says, “We work with our tier venture are the unions and the Uni- within the industry,” points out Garrett. “Our state designated enterprise zones and redeclients to provide accounting, public rela- versity of Pittsburgh Small Business De- plan is to provide similar services as Biz Fit veloping “brownfields,” or abandoned, unustions, risk management, research, and help able land that is turned into land for new with real estate ventures. All in all, we are businesses. This program promotes disada business “work tank” that incubates busivantaged communities to grow businesses nesses, provides them with resources, and and create jobs. Our unique, methodical aphelps them become successful. We’re also proach helps improve communication bepartnered with many members of the comtween the public and private sectors to form munity, so we have the connections to aspartnerships. Through these partnerships, sist in the growth of any type of business.” we are able to create a revolving loan fund In the year of serving as RCI executive diproviding funds that can be loaned to prirector Garret has been focusing on reintrovate sector firms in the designated zone.” ducing the organization to the community, Excited about the future of RCI and the resource partners and funders. “I am reevalgrowth and development occurring within uating on how to introduce new ideas with Southwestern Pennsylvania, Garrett says different collaboratives.” Pointing out that with their focus on women, minorities and the focus of RCI is and always has been miveterans that opportunities are plentiful. nority, women, veterans and disadvantaged “Pittsburgh has a billion dollars’ worth of businesses he is interested in assuring that construction projects expected just with all their services are beneficial. One entity the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority of the RCI he highly recommends is the Diand Almono Project in Hazelwood. The sigversity Business Resource Center which nificant factor is having qualified busiprovides one-on-one consulting. nesses and entrepreneurs prepared to hanThree new programs Garrett is working dle the work.” He suggests that potential on include the Biz Fit, a specialty food inentrepreneurs and businesses in need of cubator and Brick House Health. All he space, technical assistance or resources hopes to be fully functioning this year. READY TO ASSIST—Riverside Center for Innovation office manager Tenesha Smith and executive di- contact the RCI by calling 412-322-3523 or Biz Fit is an entrepreneur training pro- rector Juan Garrett prepare to continue to help their many clients (Photos by Dianee I. Daniels) through their website at gram for construction businesses. Its goal www.riversidecenterforinnovation.com.
Foreclosure crisis is lingering in the Black community by Avis Thomas Lester
Maryland—one of the United States’ wealthiest Urban News Service majority-Black jurisdictions (NNPA)—Affluence is no — the foreclosure crisis has hammered several solidly antidote to foreclosure. In Prince George’s County, middle-class communities.
These include Perrywood, a neighborhood of two-story homes near the county seat in Upper Marlboro; Marleigh in Bowie, where the local homeowners associa-
tion mows the lawns of foreclosed residences that the banks don’t maintain; and Fairwood, where the median income is $170,000, according to the U.S. Census. “They didn’t understand what it meant to take out a second mortgage, to refinance or to receive a subprime loan, they just made purchases,” said Bob Ross, president of the NAACP chapter in Prince George’s County. “So when the bubble burst, they were stuck.” NAACP New York State Conference economic development chair Garry Anthony Johnson calls foreclosures “an epidemic” for people of color. “It’s a troubling reality that African-Americans and other minorities continue to experience disproportionately high levels of unemployment, poverty and foreclosures,” Johnson said. Housing counselors and other experts told Urban News Service they blame unscrupulous lenders for the crisis. At a time when many prospective buyers
were eager to purchase and as home prices skyrocketed, some lenders took advantage by offering Black buyers discriminatory loans, these observers said. “They were products that were predatory in nature where the interest rates were inflated, there were prepayment penalties if you tried to pay the loan off or refinance and balloon payments,” said Charles R. Lowery Jr., the NAACP’s director of Fair Lending and Inclusion. “You wouldn’t get a loan that was suited to you, but the broker and the lender would make money because they sold it to you. That was their only concern.” George Mason University law professor Todd Zywicki attributes the largest proportion of the fraud that occurred during the foreclosure crisis to homeowners and lenders conspiring to “defraud” investors. “Driven by very low interest rates and a deterioration of underwriting standards catalyzed by government policy, America turned into
a nation of real estate speculators,” Zywicki, a senior fellow with the F. A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the university’s Mercatus Center, told Urban News Service. “Consumers were essentially living in their investments and rode up the housing appreciation, and everyone wanted to get into the party.” Zywicki said many of the practices characterized as fraud — including what he called “teaser” rate mortgages or “complex” mortgages, such as negative amortization — contributed little to the crisis. “In the end, what made the foreclosure crisis so bad was not fraud…but that housing prices ballooned and then crashed,” Zywicki said. “When housing prices crashed, many people recognized that paying for a home that was $50,000 or $100,000 underwater was no longer a good investSEE FORECLOSURE C2
C2 JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
BUSINESS
Foreclosure Economic inequality at home and abroad Julianne Malveaux crisis lingers CONTINUED FROM C1
ment. And the largest driver of foreclosures was the deterioration of down-payment requirements and cash-out refinancing, which meant that when housing prices fell, many people fell into negative equity positions, at which point it became rational for them to default and walk away from their homes. This dynamic was no different for minority and non-minority borrowers.” In 2007, the NAACP filed suit against Bank of America, Citibank, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, alleging that these financial institutions had committed unfair lending practices. The NAACP dropped the suit against Wells Fargo after the bank agreed to invest in a “financial freedom center” to assist homebuyers of color. The lawsuit was settled in 2010 after the banks funded programs to help homebuyers, Lowery said. In August 2014, then-U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced the Department of Justice had reached a $16.65 billion settlement with Bank of America “to resolve federal and state claims against Bank of America and its former and current subsidiaries,” including Countrywide Financial Corporation and Merrill Lynch. “Under the terms of this settlement, the bank has agreed to pay $7 billion in relief to struggling homeowners, borrowers and communities affected by the bank’s conduct,” a Department of Justice statement said. Last year, Cook County, Illinois, officials sued Bank of America and Wells Fargo in federal court. They claimed the banks had targeted people of color with discriminatory loans that led them to foreclose. The suits alleged the banks’ actions had cost the county property tax revenue and left it responsible for maintaining abandoned buildings. The Wells Fargo suit was dismissed earlier this year. Officials in Baltimore, Cleveland, Los Angeles and Memphis have also sued lending institutions in similar cases. NAACP chapters across the United States are working to support people of color who are ensnared in foreclosure, Lowery said. On Nov. 14, more than 300 people attended a Prince George’s County NAACP “Help and Hope for Homeowners” workshop at Largo High School. The event was the NAACP’s fourth this year, following similar gatherings in Chicago, Fort Lauderdale and Long Island. One woman who attended the NAACP meeting in Maryland said she was there because she and her husband’s 3,800-squarefoot home in the Woodmore South community was foreclosed after they failed to pay their mortgage for more than six months. She was laid off from her paralegal job more than a year ago. Her husband owns an entertainment company. She said she and her husband bought their home for about $700,000 in 2008. It now is worth less than $500,000. “My husband is in the luxury entertainment business, and when people started cutting back on luxuries, we had less money coming in,” she said. “Then I lost my job.” This woman spoke to Urban News Service on the condition of anonymity to avoid the embarrassment that often affects those who face foreclosure. “I have nightmares about driving my daughter to school and returning to find our things on the front lawn,” she said. Phyllis Ellis, vice president of home ownership preservation for HomeFree-USA, based in Prince George’s County, said it is a misconception that most people of color who lost their homes in the foreclosure crisis intentionally signed mortgages that they knew were unaffordable. “There were lenders who targeted minority communities,” she said. “People were manipulated, so they took the product they were offered when they may have qualified for a more traditional home loan. A lot of the problems originated from the types of mortgages that were marketed to our communities.” The news going forward for Blacks is bleak, according to Algernon Austin, senior research fellow at the Center for Global Policy Solutions in Washington, D.C. Wages are still down and joblessness is still up. “Data from the Urban Institute out to 2030 do not show a recovery,” Austin said. “[They show] a continued slide in terms of home ownership for Blacks. That’s pretty distressing. It doesn’t show any strong upward movement for Whites, either.”
(NNPA)—Days before the opening of the World Economic Forum, Oxfam, the international organization that works on world poverty issues, released a report that addressed inequality. They found the international wealth gap growing rapidly. Last year, just 62 individuals had the same wealth as the 3.6 billion people who make up the bottom half of the world population. Wealth has become much more concentrated — in 2010, more than five times as many people shared the same amount of wealth as the bottom half. While the top 62 people saw their wealth grow by 44 percent in five years, the bottom half saw their wealth drop by about the same amount (41 percent). And world incomes reflect increasingly concentrated wealth inequality. Nearly half of the world’s population lives on less than $2 a day. One in five people — 1.2 billion — live on less than a dollar a day. Oxfam says that, “growing economic inequality is bad for us all — it undermines growth and social cohesion...the consequences for the world’s poorest people are particularly severe.” While the Oxfam world inequality data is jarring, we don’t have to go global to witness the “particularly severe” consequences of domestic income and wealth inequality. Consider Flint, Michigan, the small (population around 100,000) Rust Belt city that has made national (if not international) news because of the quality of its drinking water. Republican Governor Rick Snyder appointed an emergency manager who recommended switching the city’s water source from Lake Huron to the Flint River. The river water was so foul that General Motors refused to use it, saying it would rust auto parts. If it would rust parts, what
Commentary
water is distributed. It would be good to see Nestle and Mr. BrabeckLetmathe weighing in on the Flint situation, perhaps providing some donated water to underscore the need for fair water access. Certainly, capitalism minimizes the possibility of fair access when proposals to privatize water are considered. Cher has donated 180,000 bottles of Icelandic Global water to Flint. She is paying for half of the bottles of water, and the water bottlers are donating the other half. She has shared her outrage about the Flint situation in cyberspace, calling out Governor Snyder for his callous indifference to the people of Flint. The governor’s tepid apology, only delivered under pressure, does nothing to ameliorate the damage to thousands of children and young people who have been exposed to the leaded water. Governor Snyder says he hopes the issue does not become “political.” Really? If politics is the practice of dividing resources, then this clean water matter is intrinsically political. Who gets clean water? Why? When the demographics of Flint are compared with those in the rest of the state of Michigan, it is clear that the poorer, blacker residents of Flint get far less attention from the governor than wealthier, whiter residents. The citizens of Flint have been forced to accept a deficient water quality, for political reasons. The plight of Flint citizens will hardly make the agenda of the Davos World Economic Forum. But the United States cannot claim lofty space as a world human rights leader when our own citizens are denied the basic right to clean water.
about kids? More than 40 percent of the people in Flint are poor. Fifty-six percent are African American. The city’s median income is about $23,000 a year, compared to $48,000 for the rest of the state. Clearly, the people of Flint can’t afford to purchase politicians or to force them to be responsive to their needs. Instead, like a billion people worldwide, the people of Flint have been deprived of the human right to clean and safe water. We in the United States like to brag about how much better off we are than the rest of the world. But we can’t seem to provide our citizens with something the United Nations (UN) has declared a basic human right. In 2010, the UN General Assembly said that access to clean and safe water is a human right, noting, “Everyone has the right to water, no matter where s/he lives.” The UN has said that they will monitor the progress of nations in providing water and sanitation. Maybe the UN should come and monitor Flint. While the UN has said that water is a human right, some industrialists disagree. In 2013, Nestlé’s chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe said he wanted to privatize the water supply. While he has been vocal in talking about the fair distribution of water, he also leads a com(Julianne Malveaux is an author, pany that is the world’s top seller of water, and is charged with returning economist and Founder of Economic Eduvalue to shareholders no matter how cation.)
BUSINESS CALENDAR
Understanding Financial Statements JAN. 28—The Duquesne University Small Business Development Center will host “Get Behind the Numbers and Increase Your Profits: Understanding Your Financial Statements Workshop” from 9 a.m.12 p.m. at Duquesne University, Rockwell Hall, Room 108, 600 Forbes Ave., Uptown. This is a hands-on workshop that provides a step-by-step approach to explaining two important financial statements— profit and loss statement, and a balance sheet. A representative from Wilke & Associates will offer clear examples for using these statements to make informed decisions, identify potential problems within a business and set realistic financial goals. Registration is required; attendees are asked to bring a calculator and a copy of their financial statements. For more information, call 412396-1633 or visit www.sbdc.duq.edu
Lunch and Learn Series JAN. 28— The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will host its Lunch & Learn Series at 12:15 p.m. at the Downtown & Business Branch, 612 Smithfield St., Downtown. The topic will be “TechConnect: Google Drive.” This class will introduce attendees to the basics of using Google Drive and its multiple functions. Registration is not required; seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, call 412281-7141 or visit www.carnegielibrary.org.
Networking Mixer
U.S. Chamber expands its reach, influence and voice in 2015 by Roger Caldwell NNPA News Wire Columnist
(NNPA)—Black business is growing and the Black community is not aware of its influence nationally and globally. Group economics and Black business is not discussed very often together in the Black community and this is the reason the Black community is suffering. According to 2015 Urban Institute report, Whites have 12 times the wealth of Blacks, but that does not mean that there are not successful Black organizations and businesses working to change that condition. United States Black Chamber CEO Ron Busby has been working the last five years to expand his organization to be the national voice for Black business owners. “In order for there to be a strong Black America, you must have strong businesses. There’s a trillion dollars of spending power in our community and we want to make sure that dollar stays within our community,” says CEO Busby. Blacks in America do not understand that our spending power is greater than many small countries in the world, and there are over 2 million small Black businesses in the US. The majority of these businesses are small mom and pop businesses, but if we practice group economics, they have the potential to grow. The U.S. Black Chambers is built around Five Pillars of Service, which are Advocacy, Access to Capital, Contracting, Entrepreneur Training, and Chamber Development. Through the creation of resources and initiatives, 2015 was a busy year for USBC as an association of more than 100 self-sustaining viable Black Chambers nationwide, and serving close to 250,000 small businesses. In January 2015, USBC CEDC became one of the newest additions to US Department of Transportation’s national network of 13 supportive service centers. USBC Community Economic Development Corporation received a grant award from the US Department to serve as a center to help support small businesses in the transportation industry. In February, USBC kicked off an information tour to work with local chambers and key partners such as
Google, Wells Fargo, IBM, American Express and others. In April, USBC initiated The Black Male Entrepreneurship Institute, which is a pilot businesstraining program for 20 young Black men. In July, USBC hosted their 5th Annual School of Chamber Business Management, which brought together chamber leaders and business owners from around the country. Throughout the year the USBC increased its Chamber membership, and the USBC has expanded its staff and office space in Washington DC. 2015 was a banner year for USBC, and there is a need for the Black media to do a better job in 2016 in sharing more information about their events and initiatives. Every Black organization needs more support from wealthy Blacks, and Black businesses that are in a position to support associations such as USBC. Here are five Black businesses that are doing over $500 million in revenue that prove the power and potential of African Ameri-
can business visionaries. World Wide Technology, which was founded by David Steward a global IT company in Maryland Heights, Missouri, and brings in $7 billion yearly. Act-1 Group, which is a global staffing company bringing in $2 billion each year, was founded by Janice Bryant Howard in Torrance, Calif. The AndersonDubose Company founded by Warren Anderson in Lordstown, Ohio generates $640 million in logistics. The final two are Global Alliance Automotive founded by William Pickard based in Detroit and does $520 million each year. Finally, there is Thompson Hospitality founded by Warren Thompson in Reston, Va., and does $500 million a year. Ron Busby is a visionary, who believes that Black people can be successful in business and he wakes up each morning to bring that thought to fruition. If five Black businesses can generate over $500 million in sales, there is no reason one hundred Black businesses can’t do the same.
JAN. 28—The African American Chamber of Commerce will host a Networking Mixer from 5-7 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel& Suites Pittsburgh Downtown, One Bigelow Square, Downtown. Host Ashley Riebel has planned an exciting evening to welcome members and showcase the hotel. Members are asked to wear their logo pins and bring numerous business cards. Reservations are required by Jan. 26. For more information, call 412392-0610 or email information@aaccwp.com.
Lunch and Learn Series JAN. 29— The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will host “TechConnect: Word Beyond the Basics” from 10:30 a.m.12:30 p.m. at the Carnegie Library Job and Career Education Center, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland. Here attendees will learn the next level of Word skills. Registration is required. For more information, call 412622-3133 or visit www.carnegielibrary.org.
Advancing Entrepreneurship in the Mon Valley FEB. 4—The University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence and the University Center for Social and Urban Research, and the Small Business Development Center will host the Advancing Entrepreneurship in the Mon Valley Workshop Series from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Carnegie Library of Homestead, 510 E. 10th Ave., Munhall. This workshop is designed to help individuals determine if starting a business is right for them and how to begin searching for the right business to start. Registration is requested. For more information, call 412-624-3095 or email iee@innovation.pitt.edu.
Creating Strategy for Small Business
WARREN THOMPSON
WILLIAM PICKARD
DAVID STEWART
JANICE BRYANT HOWARD
WARREN ANDERSON
FEB. 9—The Mon Valley Initiative and the University of Pittsburgh’s University Center for Social and Urban Research, and the Small Business Development Center will host its Creating Strategy for Small Business Success Workshop Series from 9-11 a.m. at the Mon Valley Initiative, 305 E. 8th Ave., Homestead. The topic will be “Leadership & Operations.” This seminar will focus on key strategies to efficiently and effectively operate one’s business. There will also be a discussion on the different ways to manage one’s staff in preparation for growth. Registration is required. For more information, call 412-624-3095 or visit www.monvalleyentrepreneur.pit t.edu. (To have information on Business Calendar, send information at least two weeks in advance to: 315 E. Carson St., Pittsburgh, PA 15219; Fax: 412-481-1360 or e-mail: newsroom@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
New Pittsburgh Courier
SPORTS
C3
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
www.newpittsburghcourier.com
Inside Conditions…Grave digger by Aubrey Bruce For New Pittsburgh
A few weeks ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers were on the verge of securing a spot in the 2015 NFL playoffs. One of the scenarios for Pittsburgh to advance to the postseason was a New England Patriots victory over the New York Jets. However, when the Patriots won the coin flip to start overtime, instead of electing to receive they chose to kick to a Jets team that had been getting the best of the Patriots during regulation; and with the Steelers losing to the Baltimore Ravens just prior to the OT period beginning, all the Patriots had to do was to beat the lowly Dolphins the next week and all the Jets had to do was
AUBREY BRUCE beat a struggling Buffalo Bills team and the Patriots would be the number one seed in the AFC playoffs and the Jets would claim the number six seed. However, on many occasions the Patriots tiptoed out of the back door of “Karmas
Brothel” without paying for “services rendered.” But on this occasion, Ms. Karma demanded payment upfront. Had the Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick demanded that the Patriots defeat the Jets the unlikely victory of the Dolphins over the Patriots would have been a moot point as far as New England claiming the number one seed in the AFC insuring that they would play every game at oxygen enriched Gillette Stadium as opposed to being forced to travel to and compete at the Sports Authority Field and Mile High and the thin air in Denver. The arrogance of the Patriots shined through like the house of the rising sun. See they thought that the Patriot offense could out
perform any other offense in the AFC with the exception of the high octane, wide receiver laden Pittsburgh Steelers so New England took a very blatant transparent and ill-advised dive against the New York Jets. The grave that they dug for the Steelers had a Patriots headstone waiting to be put in place. As long as the Steelers were forced to be couch potatoes that was all Belichick was concerned with. All the other explanations did not make sense. I was waiting for Belichick to give us some sort of scientific, atmospheric theory that the ball would carry better for the Patriots kicker and there might possibly be some sort of magnetic force due to pass over the earth just when the Jets were about to pos-
sess the ball. Belichick tried to fix the competition before the postseason ever began, but Karma or baby Karma decided that she was not going to be faithful. She had her eyes on the new guy next door. This past Sunday, the Denver Broncos defeated the New England Patriots 20-18 to claim the AFC Championship and earn the trip to Super Bowl 50. During the pregame warmups at “Mile High”, Patriots “Godfather” Robert Kraft gave his “lieutenant,” QB Tom Brady a kiss on the cheek; sorta like a La Cosa Nostra crime boss giving one of his henchmen good luck before they embarked on an assassin’s assignment. It was definitely a “Mario Puzo, this thing is ours” moment. As I watched this
ceremonial exchange of skullduggery take place it was apparent to me that whether it was deflategate, spygate or any other illegal activity practiced by the master cheaters of the sports world this exchange of “the vows of loyalty and power” may just part of a normal day in “Patriot land.” There is an old Swahili proverb that goes something like this, chochote kumwaga katika kikombe hicho ndicho una kunywa; whatever you pour into the cup that is what you have to drink. Well boys and girls it is time for Robert Kraft, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady to go “bottoms up.” (Aubrey Bruce can be reached at: abruce@newpittsburghcourier.com or 412-583-6741. Follow him on Twitter@ultrascribe.)
Cam vs. Peyton in Super Bowl 50
CAM NEWTON (AP)—Today’s NFL is all about the quarterbacks, so perhaps it’s fitting that the 50th Super Bowl features a matchup between Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos and Cam Newton’s Carolina Panthers. At 39, Manning—the only five-time MVP in history and one of the faces of the league—is the oldest starting QB to lead a team to the big game. Most folks figure his fourth Super Sunday will be the last time he dons a helmet. “Oh, wow,” Newton said. “Playing ‘The Sheriff.’” Newton, meanwhile, is part of the new guard. He is expected to be honored as the MVP for the first time—fans chanted those three letters during the NFC championship postgame ceremony—and
by Bill Neal For New Pittsburgh Courier
:10—Okay, let’s get the sports stuff out of the way so that we can get to the real important stuff…that’s right…you guessed it…the Top 10 list, featuring the dreaded Hollywood swings. :09—Steelers out due to their own fault. Hold onto the ball young man, but let’s throw in a few bad coaches’ calls, the Denver high altitude—late in the game and injuries. :08—Those injuries…with Bell, Brown and Ben add to that mix Pouncy and Williams and we’re going to Super Bowl #50. Where we should be. :07—Denver beats New England. The Pats are not the same and Peyton Manning is on a mission to prove the world wrong. :06—Carolina beats Arizona. As bad as I want Fitzgerald to get a ring, “Cam” and the boys got too
he’ll be playing in his first Super Bowl. Carolina (17-1) ran away with a 49-15 victory over the Arizona Cardinals for the NFC title Sunday night, after Denver (14-4) edged the New England Patriots 20-18 in the AFC. “There’s no question, this is a sweet day, this was a sweet victory,” Manning said. “To me, this victory sort of is a great example of what this entire season has been like. It hasn’t been easy.” The Feb. 7 game at Santa Clara, California, will be the Broncos’ record-tying eighth Super Bowl appearances—they won twice in the late 1990s—and the Panthers’ second. Carolina opened as a 4point favorite with most bookmakers.
PEYTON MANNING Manning, of course, will get so much of the attention over the next two weeks. He is 1-2 in past Super Bowls, winning a championship with the Indianapolis Colts in 2007, then losing with the Colts in 2010, before losing with the Broncos in 2014. But this is a different version of Manning. Yes, he’s still as good as anyone at diagnosing defenses and changing things up—or appearing to, anyway—at the line of scrimmage. Yes, he’s still out there yelling “Omaha!” But he is not quite as capable as he was, once upon a time, when it comes to putting the football exactly where he wants it, especially on deep routes. This has hardly been a
Overtime : 0 3 — Yo u r much juju!! Duquesne That plus Dukes beat “Cam” is 6’5” G e o r g e a n d Mason 86-75 250…C’mon but the real m a n ! national star Supoer Bowl stats came prediction after the next week. game when : 0 5 — Yo u they got can fire evstuck in the erybody in blizzard. Go Cleveland if Dukes!!! y o u :02—Alwant…Bron right everyBron’s a body, let’s b u m . get ready for D’Wade carthe stretch ried him in BILL NEAL run of high Miami for school basketball. As two. Yeah, I said it! :04—Pitt men’s basketball always, be safe, be careful, in the meat and heat of it and support the kids. Don’t and it’s not about to get any be a kid. easier. Inside pressure is :01—Here it is. The way the ticket. Win the you like it… “Straight and no Chaser.” boards…win the game.
record-setting season for Manning—or, until now, one worth remembering. Overall, the bad far outweighed the good, including one game with a passer rating of 0.0, 17 interceptions to only nine touchdown passes in the regular season, being sidelined for six weeks with a series of injuries, his first NFL game as a backup, and vehemently denying a report linking Manning’s wife to the banned drug HGH. “My role has been different and my contributions are different,” Manning said. “But I’m fortunate and grateful that I have the opportunity to contribute still, in some way. And it’s a great honor to be going back to the Super Bowl.” He’s going to California thanks in large part to the
#10–94 percent of the Oscar committee is White and 63 percent is female. What? #9–Yea, a Black woman heads the committee…and??? #8–You mean to tell me all the movies out this year and all the movie stars and they couldn’t nominate one Black person??!!? #7-Remember when Will Smith saved Hollywood and the world? #6-I say boycott the Oscars…but ya know if Halle’s going…I’m going. #5–You have 10 top movie spots but ya only name eight. Just the hell Straight Outta Compton huh? #4–Hell the damn bear in the Revenant got more attention than Black actors. #3–You all know that Michael B. Jordan should have been nominated for Creed! Anybody that saw it knows it. #2–Thank you Jada …shame on you, Stacey Dash back to the Mansion, your house. #1–Give ‘em hell Chris Rock! ~ GAME OVER ~
league’s best defense, which led the NFL with 52 sacks and allowed fewer yards than anyone else this season, then made life difficult as can be for Tom Brady and the Patriots on Sunday. “Defensively, we were just tremendous,” said Denver’s Gary Kubiak, the seventh coach in NFL history to get to the Super Bowl in his first year with a team. Linebacker Von Miller led the way for Denver, with 2 1/2 sacks and an interception. “I wanted to do it for Peyton,” Miller said. “To get him back there.” Miller and Co. will have its work cut out for it against Newton and a Carolina team that averaged a league-best 31.2
points during the regular season. And Carolina can play some serious “D,” too. The Panthers piled up seven takeaways against the Cardinals—six on defense, one on special teams—including an interception returned for a score by linebacker Luke Kuechly. The Panthers led 17-0 after the first quarter, 247 at halftime. “We wanted to start fast,” Newtown said. “We wanted to keep the pressure on.” Should be fun to see how these two talented defenses try to slow down these two talented quarterbacks. “We’ve just got to try to get some pressure on (Manning),” Kuechly said. “That’s the biggest thing.”
New Pittsburgh Courier
CLASSIFIED
C4
SONNY BOY
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
www.newpittsburghcourier.com
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Help Wanted
Help Wanted
SOFTWARE ENGINEER
MModal Services Ltd. seeks a Software Engineer in Pittsburgh, PA. Duties: improve clinical documentation process using Natural Language Processing. Req. Masterʼs and 1 yr of exp. Send resume to Jennifer Hamilton, MModal Services, Ltd., 5000 Meridian Blvd., Suite 200, Franklin, TN 37067. Include job title: Software Engineer.
OUTPATIENT THERAPIST
Three Rivers Adoption Council is looking for an Outpatient Therapist to provide counseling services to individuals, groups and families in our downtown location. The successful applicant will be comfortable providing services to the following individuals and groups: biological, foster and adoptive parents, play therapy with small children, therapeutic supervised visitation, family therapy, parent coaching, and individual therapy with all age ranges. Applicant must have an excellent understanding of attachment, child development, trauma, family systems, adoption and foster care. Applicant MUST be licensed (LPC, LSW, LCSW). Minimum of 2-5 years providing therapeutic services in an outpatient setting is preferred. The successful candidate must have a flexible schedule to include evenings and possibly weekends. Please submit a letter of inquiry and resume to jdbrady@3riversadopt.org or mail to 307 Fourth Avenue, Suite 310, Pittsburgh PA 15222.
ANNOUNCEMENTS Meetings
MEETING
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh will hold its January 2016 Board of Commissioners meeting on THURSDAY JANUARY 28, 2016. THE MEETING WILL BE HELD AT 10:30 A.M. 200 Ross Street, 13th Floor Wherrett Room, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT Community College of Allegheny County
A meeting of the Board of Trustees of the College will be held on: February 4, 2016 3:00 p.m. Board Meeting Energy Innovation Center 1435 Bedford Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15219
0
1
9
6
4
8
3
7
2
LEGAL ADVERTISING
LEGAL ADVERTISING
LEGAL ADVERTISING
Legal Notices
Legal Notices
Bids/Proposals
ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY PUBLIC NOTICE
The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority (ALCOSAN) is accepting Letters of Interest and Statements of Qualifications from Professional Architectural or Engineering Firms who wish to be considered for providing the following services: Engineering and Architectural Design Services, As Needed Various Small to Mid-Size Capital Projects The purpose of this solicitation is to support various small to mid-size capital projects identified in the current ALCOSAN Capital Program that will require engineering design services during the next two years. These projects are typically administered by the ALCOSAN staff in the Division of Engineering and Construction, Division of Operations and Maintenance and the Division of Regional Conveyance. The potential areas of design needs are: 1) Wastewater Plant Process 5) Pump Station Rehabilitation 2) Building Renovations 6) Green Stormwater Infrastructure 3) Electrical Power and Control 7) Interceptor Sewer Rehabilitation 4) Wastewater Storage Tank Rehabilitation The projects may be renovations or improvements to the existing treatment plant facilities, remote facilities or interceptor system. Some projects may have multiple prime contracts. Possible work at the plant may include replacement of process equipment, underground utility work, roof replacement, and building renovations. Examples of possible types of construction on the interceptor system include replacing force main, flap gate reconstruction, diversion structure improvements, cured in place sewer lining and underground vault and manhole construction. Regional Sewer System and Interceptor maintenance contracts may include the cleaning, inspection and removal of debris from large diameter interceptor pipes and trunk sewers while maintaining existing operations. Green infrastructure projects may be demonstration of innovative stormwater management practices. Electrical projects may include plant power factor improvement, renewable energy installation and other miscellaneous power system improvements. The projects will vary in content, duration and value. The projects should require relatively small staffing to manage and prepare biddable plans and specifications. Estimated construction costs will typically range between three hundred thousand dollars and two million dollars per project. The length of the construction projects will also likely vary between three months and fifteen months. The intent of the advertisement is to establish potential design firm candidates for the seven categories listed previously. As the need for professional services is realized for a project in a category and depending on the responses received, ALCOSAN may select from a shortlist of accepted qualified candidates in the respective category to obtain proposals (both technical and cost proposals) specific to that particular project. ALCOSAN reserves the right to consider the cost component in selecting the design firm for a specific project depending on the complexity of the project. ALCOSAN reserves the right to solicit separate requests for professional services qualifications for specific projects that may require a more significant effort or level of difficulty than what is portrayed in the project information provided herein. ALCOSAN encourages businesses owned and operated by minorities, disadvantaged and womenʼs business enterprises to submit qualification statements or to participate as subcontractors or suppliers to the selected Firm(s). Firms selected shall be required to utilize minority, disadvantaged, and womenʼs business enterprises to the fullest extent possible. The MBE/WBE goals are 10-25% total. A copy of ALCOSANʼs Minority and Women Business Policy Statement is available on the website, www.alcosan.org . ALCOSAN understands that the ability to use sub consultants will vary and depend greatly on the size and type of project. Letters of Interest and eight (8) hard copies of Statements of Qualifications must be received by 4:30 P.M., March 1, 2016, at the office of the Authority. The firm should indicate in its letter of interest which categories of design work they wish to be considered for. The submittal shall contain all of the supporting information for all of the categories that the firm wishes to be considered for. An electronic copy of the Statement of Qualifications shall also be submitted. Late submittals will not be considered and will be returned unopened. Letters of Interest and Statements of Qualifications should be mailed to: Allegheny County Sanitary Authority 3300 Preble Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15233 Attention: Suzanne Thomas, Procurement Officer The Statement of Qualifications shall be bound using GBC or other semi-permanent binding to ensure that pages are not lost. Each copy of the bound document shall have a cover that is plain white with the following information printed on the outside: (NAME OF FIRM) Statements of Qualifications Engineering and Architectural Design Services, As Needed Various Small to Mid-Size Capital Projects Standard Form SF 330 can be used in response to this advertisement. Pages shall be no larger than standard letter size 8-1/2” x 11” or folded to that dimension. An informational meeting will be held February 11, 2016 at 2:00 P.M. in the Auditorium at the ALCOSAN plant site. Additional information and instructions may be obtained by visiting www.alcosan.org and selecting “Business Opportunities” then “RFQs/RFPs”. ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY David W. Borneman, P.E. Director, Engineering and Construction RENTAL SERVICE
LEGAL ADVERTISING
Unfurnished Apartments
Bids/Proposals
WEST MIFFLIN
Leasing 2 & 3 BDR apts. 2 story town homes, nr. transportation, shopping, schools. Sec 8 assist. available. Call 412-461-7000 for application information. America’s Best Weekly 315 East Carson Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Classifieds 412-481-8302 Ext. 140
E-mail:
To place a display ad in the New Pittsburgh Courier call 412-481-8302 ext. 128 or 129
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 23, 2016 for the following: 2016 ANNUAL CRACK SEALING CONTRACT 2016 ANNUAL STREET RESURFACING PROGRAM Please refer to the Townshipʼs website at www.twpusc.org for details and requirements. /s/ Matthew R. Serakowski Township Manager
ads@newpittsburghcourier.com Deadline/Closing/ Cancellation Schedule for copy, corrections, and cancellations: Friday noon preceding Wednesday publication
COURIER CLASSIFIEDS... THE ONLY WAY TO GO
ADVERTISEMENT
Sealed bid proposals are hereby solicited for the Community College of Allegheny County, 800 Allegheny Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15233 (412.237.3020) on the following items: Bid Proposal No. 957 HP Network Switches Proposals will be received at the Purchasing Department until 2:00 P.M. Prevailing Time on Thursday, February 4, 2016 at which time they will be publicly opened. Any proposals received after this deadline will be considered as a “late bid” and will be returned unopened to the offerer. The CCAC Purchasing Department is now publishing all bids via the CCAC website at h t t p s : / / w w w. c c a c . e d u / B i d RFP_Opportunities.aspx It will be each vendorʼs responsibility to monitor the bid activity within the given website (“Bid and RFP Opportunities”) and ensure compliance with all applicable bid documents inclusive of any issued addenda. Failure to incorporate any applicable addenda in the final submittal may result in the rejection of your bid. Proposals may require Bid Bonds, Performance Bonds, Payment Bonds, and Surety as dictated by the specifications. No bidder may withdraw his bid 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.
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR Video Audio Training RFP#800-02-16
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Video Audio Training RFP#800-02-16 The documents will be available no later than January 25, 2016 and signed, sealed proposals will be accepted until 10:00 A.M., February 12, 2016 at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Parties or individuals interested may obtain information from: Mr. Kim Detrick – Procurement Director/ Contracting Officer Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 2nd Floor, Suite 200 100 Ross Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-5116, Option 1 or by visiting the Business Opportunities section of www.hacp.org A pre bid meeting will be held: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 February 4, 2016 10:00 A.M. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation. HACPʼs has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and login, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation. Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh
HACP 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. COURIER CLASSIFIEDS…THE ONLY WAY TO GO!
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
CLASSIFIEDS
LEGAL ADVERTISING
LEGAL ADVERTISING
Bids/Proposals
Bids/Proposals
PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY ADVERTISEMENT
Separate sealed Bids for the Work as listed hereinafter will be received at the Purchasing and Materials Management Department of Port Authority of Allegheny County (Authority) Heinz 57 Center, 345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222-2527 until 1:30 p.m. on February 25, 2016 and will be publicly opened and read immediately thereafter at the same address. COLLIER ROOF REPLACEMENT & HVAC UPGRADES CONTRACT NO. COL-16-02 G & H The Work of this Project includes, but is not limited to, the furnishing of all labor, supervision, materials, tools, equipment and incidentals necessary for the removal of the existing roof system to roof deck and the installation of a new 3ply roof system on the Collier Garage. The new roof system project shall include, but not be limited to, new insulation, new flashing, new metal components, new caps, new copings, new lumber, new roof drains and overflow drains (drain bowls), disposal of related construction materials and miscellaneous work as indicated on the contract documents. The reroofing will require the removal of all roof equipment on the roof and reinstallation of that equipment with new curbs. This Project also includes the complete removal and replacement of 4 rapid fire roof units, 2 roof top units and 1 exhaust fan. Bid Documents will be available for public inspection and may be obtained on or after January 25, 2016 at Authorityʼs offices at the following address: Port Authority of Allegheny County Purchasing and Materials Management Department Heinz 57 Center 345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-2527 Bid Documents are available for purchase as follows: Bid Documents are available in an electronic form on compact disk upon payment of $15.00 per disk. Payment shall be by check or money order (NO CASH), payable to “Port Authority of Allegheny County.” No refunds of payment will be made. Upon request, Bid Documents can be mailed upon receipt of payment in full. Should the purchaser wish to have the Bid Documents delivered via special delivery, such as UPS or Federal Express, the purchaser shall provide its appropriate account numbers for such special delivery methods. This Project may be funded, in part, by, and subject to certain requirements of, the County of Allegheny and/or the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Authority, in compliance with 74 Pa.C.S. § 303, as may be amended, require that certified Diverse Businesses (“DBs”) have the maximum opportunity to participate in the performance of contracts and subcontracts for this Project. In this regard, all Bidders shall make good faith efforts in accordance with 74 Pa.C.S. § 303, to ensure that DBs have the maximum opportunity to compete for and perform contracts. Bidders shall also not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, disability, national origin, sexual origin, gender identity or status as a parent in the award and performance of contracts for this Project. If aid is required to involve DBs in the Work, Bidders are to contact Authorityʼs DBE Representative, Cameil Williams at (412) 566-5257. The Bidderʼs attention is directed to the following contacts for Bidderʼs questions: Procedural Questions Regarding Bidding: Cynthia Denner - Authority (412) 566-5117 All other questions relating to the Bid Documents must be submitted by mail or facsimile to: Port Authority of Allegheny County Heinz 57 Center 345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527 Attn: Cynthia Denner Fax: (412) 566-5359 In addition, the Bidderʼs attention is directed to the following schedule of activities for preparation of its Bid: 9:00 AM February 3, 2016
Pre-Bid Conference Port Authority of Allegheny County Heinz 57 Center 345 Sixth Avenue, 5th Floor Board Room Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527 (Attendance is not mandatory, but strongly recommended) Pre-Bid Site Tour at Collier Garage immediately following the Pre-Bid Conference Transportation not provided for the Site Tour (Hard hats, safety vests, safety glasses and appropriate shoes are required)
1:30 p.m. Bids Due February 25, 2016 Purchasing and Materials Management Department Authority reserves the right to reject any or all Bids
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB) FOR FALCON LOCK CORES IFB# 300-12-16
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): FALCON LOCK CORES IFB# 300-12-16 The documents will be available no later than January 18, 2016 and signed, sealed bids will be accepted until 10:00 p.m. on February 11, 2016 at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, at which time they will be opened and read aloud. Parties or individuals interested in responding may download a copy of the Solicitation from the Business Opportunities page of www.HACP.org. Questions or inquiries should be directed to: Kim Detrick Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-5116 Opt 1 A pre bid meeting will be held: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Dept. 100 Ross Street 2nd. Fl. Ste. 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Thursday, February 4, 2016 10:00 A.M. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation. HACPʼs has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation. Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh HACP 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.
COURIER CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB) FOR COMPACTOR / CHUTE REPAIR AT VARIOUS HACP LOCATIONS IFB#300-11-16
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): COMPACTOR / CHUTE REPAIR AT VARIOUS HACP LOCATIONS IFB#300-11-16 The documents will be available no later than January 25, 2016 and signed, sealed bids will be accepted until 11:00 A.M., February 12, 2016 at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, at which time they will be opened and read aloud. Parties or individuals interested in responding may download a copy of the Invitation for Bid from the Business Opportunities page of www.HACP.org. Questions or inquires should be directed to: Kim Detrick Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 2nd Floor, Suite 200 100 Ross Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-5116 Opt 1 A pre bid meeting will be held: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Dept. 100 Ross Street 2nd. Fl. Ste. 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Thursday, February 4, 2016 11:00 A.M. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation. HACPʼs has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation. Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh HACP 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.
SONNY BOY
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
LEGAL ADVERTISING
LEGAL ADVERTISING
LEGAL ADVERTISING
Bids/Proposals
Bids/Proposals
Bids/Proposals
LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT Request for Proposal ACHA-1547 Commercial Laundry Vending Service
The Allegheny County Housing Authority is requesting proposals from quailed firm/individuals to provide Commercial Laundry Vending Service, per specifications for it locations throughout Allegheny County. Request for Proposals and contract documents are on file and may be obtained, at no charge, in the Purchasing Department of the Allegheny County Housing Authority, 625 Stanwix Street, 12th floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 or by contacting the ACHA at 412-402-2435 or email at gphillips@achsng.com. A pre-proposal conference will be held on Thursday, February 18, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. in the Allegheny County Housing Authority Board Room on the 12th Floor. Proposals are due by 10:00 a.m. local time, Monday, March 14, 2016 at the Allegheny County Housing Authority. The Allegheny County Housing Authority encourages responses from small firms, minority firms and firms that have not previously performed work for Allegheny County Housing Authority. ALLEGHENY COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY Frank Aggazio, Executive Director
ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY LEGAL NOTICE CONTRACT NO. 1656
The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority is soliciting Bids for CONTRACT NO. 1656-RENTAL OF A VACUUM TRUCK. Proposals will be received until 11:00 A.M., Prevailing Time, Tuesday, February 16, 2016 at the office of the Authority. The bids will then be publicly opened and read. ALCOSAN encourages businesses owned and operated by minorities and women to submit bids on Authority Proposals or to participate as subcontractors or suppliers to the successful bidders. Successful Bidders are to use minority or womenʼs businesses to the fullest extent possible. The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all Proposals, to waive any informality in any Proposal and to accept any Proposal should it be deemed in the interest of the Authority to do so. Bid Security in the amount of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) is required. The successful Bidder will be required to furnish a Performance Bond in the Amount of $10,000.00. A non-mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting will be held at the Authorityʼs Plant, at the O&M Building Conference Room No. 118, on Tuesday, February 9, 2016 at 1:30 P.M. Prospective Bidders are encouraged to attend this meeting. Documents pertaining to the submission of Bids are available at the office of the Authority, 3300 Preble Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15233. Any questions regarding this contract document should be directed to Benjamin J. Heilman, Contract Supervisor at (412) 734-6204. ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY Benjamin J. Heilman Contract Supervisor
LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT Request for Proposal ACHA-1548 Real Estate Brokerage and Consulting Services
The Allegheny County Housing Authority is requesting proposals from quailed firm/individuals to provide Commercial Laundry Vending Service, per specifications for it locations throughout Allegheny County. Request for Proposals and contract documents are on file and may be obtained, at no charge, in the Purchasing Department of the Allegheny County Housing Authority, 625 Stanwix Street, 12th floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 or by contacting the ACHA at 412-402-2435 or email at gphillips@achsng.com. A pre-proposal conference will be held on Friday, February 19, 2016 at 11:00 a.m. in the Allegheny County Housing Authority Board Room on the 12th Floor. Proposals are due by 10:00 a.m. local time, Friday, March 4, 2016 at the Allegheny County Housing Authority. The Allegheny County Housing Authority encourages responses from small firms, minority firms and firms that have not previously performed work for Allegheny County Housing Authority. ALLEGHENY COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY Frank Aggazio, Executive Director
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
The Washington County Housing Authority will accept proposals from authorized pest control companies for County wide Bed Bug Extermination services for its Public Housing inventory. Services will consist of inspection, use of product applications, use of heat, and related services as relates to eradication of bedbugs in apartments and non dwelling areas. The services must comply with all applicable laws and procedures. Information relative to this Request may be obtained from the Washington County Housing Authority by calling the Central Administrative Office at 724/228-6060, extension 107, during normal business hours. Any changes, deletions or additions will be forwarded to all recipients of the Request in the form of an addendum prior to the due date for final submissions. Proposals must be received at the Housing Authority at 100 Crumrine Tower, Franklin Street, Washington, PA 15301, by the close of business (4:30 PM) on February 15, 2016. The envelope must be clearly marked with the words “Pest Control Proposal” In accordance to the laws - - Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Executive Order 11246, Section 503 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act - - the Washington County Housing Authority does not discriminate in job employment, Federal contracts or subcontracts, or housing programs due to race, creed, color, religion, sex, handicap, national origin, or age. The Housing Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals for any or no reason. Stephen K. Hall, Executive Director WASHINGTON COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY
PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY
Electronic Proposals will be received online at the Port Authority of Allegheny Countyʼs Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness.portauthority.org). Proposals/bid submittals will be due 11:00 AM on February 19, 2016 and will be read at 11:15 AM., the same day, in Port Authorityʼs Public Meeting Room, 345 Sixth Avenue, Fifth Floor, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-2527, for the following: Electronic Proposal - Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness.portauthority.org) B150425RR Cummins Replacement Engines B150637AR Coach Replacement Parts–Suspension B151288 Manchester Waterjet Cutter B151289A Turbochargers–Cummins Engines B151290A Coach Replacement Parts–Air Conditioning Paper Proposal – Documents are available for the following item at Port Authorityʼs Main Offices 345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 15222-2527 B151291A Off-Site Record Storage and Services No bidder may withdraw a submitted Proposal for a period of 75 days after the scheduled time for opening of the sealed bids. A Pre-Bid Conference will be held on each of the above items at 10:00am on February 2, 2016 in the Port Authorityʼs Public Meeting Room, 345 Sixth Avenue, Fifth Floor, Pittsburgh, PA. Attendance at this meeting is not mandatory, but is strongly encouraged. Questions regarding any of the above bids will not be entertained by the Port Authority within 48 hours of the scheduled bid opening. These contracts may be subject to a financial assistance contract between Port Authority of Allegheny County and the United States Department of Transportation. The Contractor will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity laws and regulations. Contractor is responsible for expenses related to acquiring a performance bond and insurance where applicable. All items are to be FOB delivered unless otherwise specified. Costs for delivery, bond, and insurance shall be included in bidderʼs proposal pricing. Port Authority of Allegheny County hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively insure that in regard to any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprise will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award. The Board of Port Authority reserves the right to reject any or all bids.
C5
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA January 15, 2016
The Office of the County Controller of Allegheny County, Room 104, Court House, Pittsburgh, PA, will receive separate and sealed Bids until 11:00 A.M. prevailing local time, WEDNESDAY, February 10, 2016, and a representative of the Department of Public Works will open and read the Bids in the Gold Room, Room 410, Court House, Pittsburgh, PA, onehalf hour later, 11:30 oʼclock A.M., for the following: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS 2016 Capital Bridge Repair Contract various bridges within various municipalities COUNTY PROJECT NO. AA00-2016 PREBID INFORMATION: Purchase and/or view the Proposal, Specifications and Drawings at the Office of the Contract Manager, Room 504, County Office Building, Pittsburgh, PA. The nonrefundable charge for the Proposal and disc containing the Specifications and Drawings is $ 107.00 including sales tax. Bid documents may be mailed for an additional fee of $16.05 including sales tax. The Contract Manager will accept only check or money order to the “COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY.” The Department of Public Works will hold a PreBid Meeting on January 27, 2016 at 10:00 A.M. in Room 505 County Office Building, 542 Forbes Ave., Pgh., Pa. 15219. Details of this project, Bidding Requirements and Contract Conditions are available on the Allegheny County internet website (www.alleghenycounty.us; click on “Departments,” click on “Public Works” then click on “Bids & Proposals)” and are also available on the Pennsylvania Purchasing Group/PAPG website (www.PAbidsystem.com; click on “bid opportunities;” then click on “Allegheny County-Dept. of Public Works-open documents” – then register if necessary). Chelsa Wagner Controller County of Allegheny
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB) FOR UNDERGROUND GAS LINE DETECTION AND CERTIFICATION IFB# 300-14-16
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Underground Gas Line Detection and Certification IFB# 300-14-16 The documents will be available no later than January 18, 2016 and signed, sealed bids will be accepted until 1:00 p.m. on February 12, 2016 at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, at which time they will be opened and read aloud. Parties or individuals interested in responding may download a copy of the Solicitation from the Business Opportunities page of www.HACP.org. Questions or inquiries should be directed to: Kim Detrick Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-5116 Opt 1 A pre bid meeting will be held: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Dept. 100 Ross Street 2nd. Fl. Ste. 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Thursday, February 4, 2016 1:00 P.M. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation. HACPʼs has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation. Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh HACP 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.
C6
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
CLASSIFIEDS
LEGAL ADVERTISING
LEGAL ADVERTISING
LEGAL ADVERTISING
LEGAL ADVERTISING
LEGAL ADVERTISING
Bids/Proposals
Bids/Proposals
Bids/Proposals
Bids/Proposals
Bids/Proposals
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR Grievance Hearing Officers RFP#700-07-16
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Grievance Hearing Officers RFP#700-07-16 The documents will be available no later than January 18, 2016 and signed, sealed proposals will be accepted until 11:00 A.M., February 8, 2016 at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Parties or individuals interested may obtain information from: Mr. Kim Detrick – Procurement Director/Contracting Officer Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 2nd Floor, Suite 200 100 Ross Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-5116, Option 1 or by visiting the Business Opportunities section of www.hacp.org A pre bid meeting will be held: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 January 29, 2016 11:00 A.M. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation. HACPʼs has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation. Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh HACP 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.
NOTICE TO BIDDERS
WESTMORELAND COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY ADMINISTRATION OFFICE DEVELOPMENT HEMPFIELD TOWNSHIP – WESTMORELAND COUNTY •GENERAL CONSTRUCTION – CONTRACT: PA18-2016-1-GC •PLUMBING CONSTRUCTION – CONTRACT: PA18-2016-2-PC •ELECTRICAL CONSTRUCTION – CONTRACT: PA18-2016-3-EC The Westmoreland County Housing Authority (WCHA) is requesting construction bids for the referenced project and sealed bids will be received by the WCHA, until February 16, 2016 at 10:00 A.M. Bids shall be deposited at the Administrative Office of the WCHA, 154 South Greengate Road, Greensburg PA 15601. Bids received will then be opened publically. A Pre-Bid Meeting is scheduled for January 28, 2016 at 10:00 A.M. Meeting location will be at what is currently Oak Brook Commons – 400 Oakbrook Commons, Greensburg PA. 15601. Attendance is not mandatory, but highly recommended. Interested respondents shall obtain hard copy bid documents from the WCHA-Administration Office for a $125 fee, telephone (724) 832-7248, ext. 3056 or 3021. Electronic Bid Documents are available for downloading at no cost at www.wchaonline.com . Inquiries and plan holder registration can be emailed to eriks@wchaonline.com. Plan holders shall register with WCHA via email in accordance with the bid requirements.
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR Compliance Consultant Services RFP#125-01-16
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Compliance Consultant Services RFP#125-01-16 The documents will be available no later than January 18, 2016 and signed, sealed proposals will be accepted until 10:00 A.M., February 8, 2016 at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Parties or individuals interested may obtain information from: Mr. Kim Detrick – Procurement Director/Contracting Officer Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 2nd Floor, Suite 200 100 Ross Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-5116, Option 1 or by visiting the Business Opportunities section of www.hacp.org A pre bid meeting will be held: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 January 29, 2016 10:00 A.M. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation. HACPʼs has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation. Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh HACP 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.
OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION Of the SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH
Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Room 251, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on February 23, 2016 until 2:00 p.m., local prevailing time for: Pgh. Brashear H. S. New Science Labs General, Asbestos, Plumbing, HVAC and Electrical Primes Clayton Academy Science Labs General, Asbestos, Plumbing, HVAC and Electrical Primes Pgh. Colfax K-8 PA and Auditorium Sound Systems Electrical Prime Pgh. Liberty K-5 Ceiling Fans Electrical Prime Pgh. Westinghouse 6-12 Public Safety Lab General, Plumbing, HVAC and Electrical Primes Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on January 25 and February 5, 2016 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 nonrefundable. Project details and dates are described in each project manual.
COURIER CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Constable Services RFP#250-09-16 The documents will be available no later than January 18, 2016 and signed, sealed proposals will be accepted until 1:00 P.M., February 8, 2016 at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Parties or individuals interested may obtain information from: Mr. Kim Detrick – Procurement Director/Contracting Officer Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 2nd Floor, Suite 200 100 Ross Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-5116, Option 1 or by visiting the Business Opportunities section of www.hacp.org A pre bid meeting will be held: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 January 29, 2016 1:00 P.M. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation. HACPʼs has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation. Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh HACP 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.
Look for our red box WHOLE FOODS MARKET 5880 CENTRE AVE
YMCA 11817 FRANKSTOWN RD
AMTRACK STATION LIBERTY AVE & GRANT ST
EAST LIBERTY EBA EAST BUSWAY KINGSLEY ASSOCIATION 6435 FRANKSTOWN AVE.
CCAC—HOMEWOOD BRANCH WILKINSBURG EBA HOMEWOOD & EAST BUSWAY BRUSHTON AVE
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR Technical Accounting RFP#150-04-16
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Technical Accounting RFP#150-04-16 The documents will be available no later than January 25, 2016 and signed, sealed proposals will be accepted until 11:00 A.M., February 12, 2016 at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Parties or individuals interested may obtain information from: Mr. Kim Detrick – Procurement Director/ Contracting Officer Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 2nd Floor, Suite 200 100 Ross Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-5116, Option 1 or by visiting the Business Opportunities section of www.hacp.org A pre bid meeting will be held: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 February 4, 2016 11:00 A.M. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation. HACPʼs has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation. Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh HACP 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.
ADVERTISEMENT
Sealed bid proposals are hereby solicited for the Community College of Allegheny County, 800 Allegheny Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15233 (412.237.3020) on the following items: Request for Proposal 3076 – Procurement of Classroom Presentation Equipment and Accompanying Professional Services – West Hall Request for Proposal 3077 – Procurement of Audio Equipment for the Choral and Recording Studio and Accompanying Professional Services – West Hall A MANDATORY pre-bid and walk through will be held onsite for both RFPs concurrently at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, February 3, 2016. The assembly point will be the front entrance to West Hall, 800 block of Ridge Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. Hard hats are required. Proposals will be received at the Purchasing Department until 2:00 P.M. Prevailing Time on Friday, February 12, 2016 at which time they will be publicly opened. Any proposals received after this deadline will be considered as a “late bid” and will be returned unopened to the offerer. The CCAC Purchasing Department is now publishing all bids via the CCAC website at h t t p s : / / w w w. c c a c . e d u / B i d RFP_Opportunities.aspx It will be each vendorʼs responsibility to monitor the bid activity within the given website (“Bid and RFP Opportunities”) and ensure compliance with all applicable bid documents inclusive of any issued addenda. Failure to incorporate any applicable addenda in the final submittal may result in the rejection of your bid. Proposals may require Bid Bonds, Performance Bonds, Payment Bonds, and Surety as dictated by the specifications. No bidder may withdraw his bid 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.
COURIER CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS
Pick up your Courier at these locations Pittsburgh Courier NEW
On Sale Wednesdays WESTERN AREA: CRAFTON BEVERAGE CRAFTON/INGRAM SHOPPING CENTER GIANT EAGLE CRAFTON/INGRAM SHOPPING CENTER SHEETZ #353 5400 CAMPBELL’S RUN RD SHOP N’ SAVE #1686 2103 NOBLESTOWN RD SAFRANS SUPER MKT 429 WALNUT ST GIANT EAGLE #74 PARKWAY CENTER MALL SOUTHERN AREA: KEN’S 216 BELTZHOOVER AVE NELSON’S 92 SYLVANIA AVE GIANT EAGLE #61 2021 WHARTON AVE COGO’S 2400 EAST CARSON ST COGO’S 925 EAST CARSON ST DAILY MART 1125 ARLINGTON AVE SHOP N SAVE CARRICK SOUTH EASTERN AREA:
To place a display ad in the New Pittsburgh Courier call 412-481-8302 ext. 128 or 129
CITY COUNTY BUILDING 420 GRANT ST
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR Constable Services RFP#250-09-16
SUPER STOP 403 KENMAWR AVE CARL’S CAFE 337 FIFTH AVE COMET NEWS 540 BRADDOCK AVE PUFFS DISCOUNT TOBACCO 1722 GREENSBUR AVE A-PLUS SUNOCO 7403 WASHINGTON ST COGO’S 1050 BRINTON RD COGO’S 2003 S BRADDOCK AVE EDGEWOOD EXPRESS 253 EDGEWOOD AVE BRAD EXPRESS 1101 S BRADDOCK AVE GIANT EAGLE #619 1705 S. BRADDOCK AVE CVS 7406 CHURCH ST HANINI MARKET 1105 SWISSVALE AVE DUKE’S SUNOCO 825 DUQUESNE BLVD 7-11 818 N. DUQUESNE BLVD GIANT EAGLE #6379 420 EAST WATERFRONT DR GIANT EAGLE—MCKEESPORT 3812 O’NEILL BLVD J & S FOOD MART 625 W GRANT AVE RITE AID PHARMACY 100 WILLIAM MARKS DR GIANT EAGLE 1356 HOFFMAN BLVD BP GAS STATION LYSLE & WALNUT DS FOODMART
929 UNION ST RITE AID PHARMACY 725 LYSLE BLVD CHARLIE’S CORNER STORE 500 LOCUST ST NEIGHBORHOOD DOLLAR 333 5TH AVE GIANT EAGLE #38 1901 MURRAY AVE JACK’S E 8TH AVE EASTERN AREA: WATERWORKS GIANT EAGLE #72 1005 FREEPORT RD— DIVINE HAIR STUDIO 10 DUFF RD GIANT EAGLE 9001 FRANKSTOWN RD GIANT EAGLE #78 230 RODI RD BP GAS STATION 11835 FRANKSTOWN RD THE SPOT 11675 FRANKSTOWN RD MASH MINI MART 4341 OLD WM. PENN HWY GIANT EAGLE #60 4004 MONROEVILLE BLVD GIANT EAGLE #76 AMES PLAZA, ROUTE 22 GET IT QUICK 500 GARDEN CITY JT RIB SHACK 1 RAQUET LANE DESTINY’S HAIR SALON 408 RODI RD PUFF’S DISCOUNT TOBACCO 10991 FRANKSTOWN RD MIKE’S SPOT 815 UNIVERSAL RD CREAMY CREATIONS 144B JEFFERSON RD SHOP N SAVE 3335 WILLIAM PENN HWY SHEETZ 3457 WILLIAM PENN HWY GETGO 10525 FRANKSTOWN RD CVS PHARMACY 10600 FRANKSTOWN RD SHELL OIL 7619 BAUM BLVD KIWI SUNOCO FRANKSTOWN AVE WILLIAM PENN SMOKE SHOP II 132 NORTH HIGHLAND AVE MARATHON GAS 6680 FRANKSTOWN AVE PENN AIKEN DAIRY 5401 PENN AVE GIANT EAGLE #17 6320 SHAKESPEARE ST HOMEWOOD MARKET 7201 FRANKSTOWN AVE SALIK HARDWARE 607 NORTH HOMEWOOD AVE NEGLEY A PLUS 123 NORTH NEGLEY AVE BAKER’S 7203 HAMILTON & STERRETT AVES DORSEY’S RECORDS 7614 FRANKSTOWN AVE
HOSPITAL CORNER 4201 PENN AVE PEOPLES GROCERY 5136 PENN AVE A&M MARKET 5224 PENN AVE A-PLUS MINI MART 7701 PENN AVE WOOD & PENN 902 WOOD ST AL’S FISH & CHICKEN 1000 PENN AVE SAVE A LOT 725 ROSS AVE CVS PHARMACY 520 PENN AVE GETGO 408 PENN AVE QUICK STOP LIBERTY 3349 LIBERTY AVE K-2 CONVENIENT STORE 4900 PENN AVE SHUR SAVE 4120 MAIN ST SHELL GAS 6701 FRANKSTOWN RD UNIMART 5724 ELLSWORTH AVE GIANT EAGLE #77 254 YOST BLVD PUFF’S DISCOUNT TOBACCO 234 YOST BLVD SPEEDY MART 2131 ARDMORE BLVD SQUIRREL HILL NEWS 5804 FORBES AVE MURRAY AVE. NEWS 2024 MURRAY AVE GIANT EAGLE MURRAY AVE & LORETTA ST DISCOUNT TOBACCO & NEWS 1929 MURRAY AVE UNIVERSITY OF PGH BOOKSTORE 4000 5TH AVE DANA’S BAKERY 720 N. HOMEWOOD AVE DA STORE 606 & 1/2 N. HOMEWOOD AVE FLOSSYS HAIR DESIGNS 5927 PENN AVE BONUS TIRE SERVICE 4349 VERONA RD KANDY CAFE 4291 VERONA RD GIANT EAGLE SHADYSIDE 550 CENTRE AVE MARATHON GAS 4010 PENN AVE STANTON NEGLEY DRUG 804 N. NEGLEY AVE RON’S CORNER DRUG MT. CARMEL RD CENTRAL AREA: GET GO #64 4924 BAUM BLVD SCHWARTZ MARKET 1901 5TH AVE SMOKER FRIENDLY 906 5TH AVE HILL DISTRICT: WONG’S MARKET 2170 CENTRE AVE ANN’S MARKET 2316 WEBSTER AVE A-PLUS MINI MART 2350 CENTRE AVE UJAMMA BOUTIQUE 1901 CENTRE AVE K LEROY IRVIS TOWERS 715 MERCER ST SHOP & SAVE SUPERMARKET 1850 CENTRE AVE
ABE’S MARKET 1860 CENTRE AVE WYLIE TOBACCO 2152 WYLIE AVE DOWNTOWN:
KWIK-E-MART 212-10TH ST 7-11 #167 643 LIBERTY AVE 7-11 #165 SIXTH & PENN AVE 7-11 #170 429 WOOD ST ESTER’S SNAX FEDERAL BUILDING, 2ND FL SMITHFIELD NEWS 115 SMITHFIELD ST CITY NEWS & ARCADE 422 WOOD ST FABER COE & GREGG 500 GRANT ST FABER COE & GREGG FIFTH AVE. PLACE FABER COE & GREGG 600 GRANT ST NIELSEN’S STORES #09 301 GRANT ST— ONE OXFORD CENTER NIELSEN’S STORES #13 437 SEVENTH AVE— KOPPERS BUILDING 9TH & PENN NEWS-NUMBERS 136 PENN AVE EXTRA EXTRA NEWS 413 SEVENTH AVE NEAL NEWS 400 CHERRY WAY CVS PHARMACY #4120 610-612 WOOD ST C&C NEWS 2 PPG PLACE NEWSTAND SIXTH & WOOD ONE STOP 300 SIXTH & WOOD EDDIE’S SNACKS 262 5TH AVE BIG DADDY 465 FORBES AVE 711 SMITHFIELD 420 SMITHFIELD ST NORTHERN AREA: W. N. GROCERY 1018 NORTH AVE. NORTH SIDE BEER & BEVERAGE 1304 FEDERAL ST ALLEGHENY GIFT SHOP— AGH HOSPITAL 320 EAST NORTH AVE GIANT EAGLE #652 318 CEDAR AVE 7-11 #158 1001 WESTERN AVE RICHEY’S BARBER SHOP 1207 N. FRANKLIN ST QUIK-IT 820 PENNSYLVANIA AVE RITE AID #3459 802 PENNSYLVANIA AVE MARSHALL SHELL 1500 SPRING GARDEN AVE SWINKO’S MARKET 2535 PERYSVILLE AVE MERCY STREET EXPRESS 6 MERCY ST HARV’S EXXON 2501 BRIGHTON RD QUICK SCHWARTZ 3235 BRIGHTON RD HANINI MARKET 3245 BRIGHTON RD