America’s best weekly Smithsonian’s Black history museum popular destination in D.C.
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PPS expands ‘Restorative Practices’ 55 of 81 homicides Black lives
by Christian Morrow
“We’ve been moving in this direction for some time—not just applying a ‘recommended outcome,’ we have hearings, collect information and try to keep things consistent but still allow for equity in individual circumstances.”
Courier Staff Writer
Thanks to a federal grant in 2015, the Pittsburgh Public Schools contracted the RAND Corp. to study how using “restorative practices” in 22 schools could improve student-teacher communication, reduce out-ofschool suspensions and narrow the gap between suspension rates for Black students vs. White students, compared to another 22 schools that did not use the practices.
DARA WARE ALLEN, PhD Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services
Though the final RAND analysis will not be completed until next spring, the district has announced that it is expanding the implementation of restorative practices to 10 more schools, and plans to deploy the program to all its schools by this time next year. Following a district-wide training session Nov. 7, the new regimen will be implemented at Pittsburgh Crescent Early Childhood Center, Pittsburgh Lincoln SEE PPS A6
Port Authority holding Bus Rapid Transit meetings
Six homicides in Allegheny County in month of September by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer
On one hand, there were only six homicides in Allegheny County for the month of September. In three of those cases police have already arrested the alleged perpetrators, and in a fourth case have issued a warrant for the suspect.
Riders in McKeesport, Homestead, Braddock could be affected
by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer
With the Port Authority of Allegheny County still working to finalize the details of its Bus Rapid Transit program, the authority has scheduled a series of meeting for riders in east suburbs and Mon Valley communities like McKeesport and Homestead that would be affected by changes that will be made to some routes—in particular the 61A, 61B and 61C, none of which will go to Downtown Pittsburgh once the new system is in place. The BRT plan, announced in June and called “Core+2,” would deploy special buses between Downtown and Oakland running in dedicated lanes outbound on Forbes Avenue and inbound on Fifth Avenue, as buses serving 14 existing routes do now. Beyond Oakland, it would include three branches—one extending toward Highland Park
FRANCO HARRIS, Chairman of the Pittsburgh Promise, with Zeirdik Williams, a fellow Penn State graduate, and Chelsea Lewis, a senior at Pittsburgh CAPA. (Photo by J.L. Martello)
‘Preferred College Partners’ Colleges commit extra funds and support to Pittsburgh Promise grads
by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer
In March, the Pittsburgh Promise hosted a presentation for its college, university and technical school partners by Georgia State University Vice Provost Timothy Renick, showing how by taking a few proactive steps, college retention
SEE PORT AUTHORITY A5
for first-generation, low-income and minority students could be dramatically increased. Last week, that presentation bore fruit as representatives of 19 Pittsburgh Promise higher education partners committed to supporting Promise graduates with additional funding and support programming. In return for promoting
the colleges and universities throughout the Pittsburgh Public Schools as “Preferred College Partners,” the institutions will provide Promise enrollees with $2,000 per student, per year for room and board—though some will provide up to $5,000—over and above their other grant SEE PROMISE A5
On the other hand, four of the county’s six victims were Black— and in two of them, no suspect has yet been identified. SEPT. 1–Melodie Robb, a 52-year-old White female, and her sister, 55-year-old Kimberly Lesko, were fatally shot as they sat in Robb’s house by 19-year-olds Miras Kelly II and Kylee Lankford, who burst into the home in a failed burglary attempt. Kelly surrendered to police Sept. 7 after a witness identified both attackers. Allegheny County police arrested Lankford—who Kelly and the witness said killed the sisters and critically wounded a friend staying at the house— Sept. 19 at the Walmart in North Versailles. Both are in the Allegheny County Jail. SEPT. 2—Andre Williams, a 26-year-old Black male, was found shot in the head by Penn Hills police near the intersection of Lincoln and Vine streets. He died later at the hospital. Allegheny County police have issued a warrant for 20-year-old Steven Sparrow in the shooting and SEE HOMICIDES B7
Clairton High School Hall of Fame honors city’s best athletes by Genea L. Webb
A Player of the Year. After being recruited by West Virginia and Minnesota, Mullen chose West Virginia and played in three of the Mountaineers’ Bowl game victories; the 1981 Peach Bowl, the 1983 Hall of Fame Classic Bowl and the 1984 Bluebonnet Bowl. After graduation, Mullen was signed by the Detroit Lions in 1985 but was released before the season began. A year later he was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers but left the team on his own free will when he couldn’t shake a bad case of the flu. One day before he was ready to give
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Gary Mullen’s love for the city of Clairton and its sports teams is evident. “I love this town. This is home. Clairton is a special place. I am a Bear for life,” said Mullen, a 1980 graduate of Clairton High School who was a standout member of the football and basketball teams. He held the quarterback and defensive back positions on the football team and led the Bears to the WPIAL playoffs during his senior year of high school. Although the team didn’t win the final championship game, Mullen was named the Pittsburgh Press Class
INAUGURAL CLAIRTON HIGH SCHOOL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES (Photo by J.L. Martello)
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OCTOBER 4-10, 2017
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This Week In Black History
Week of October 4-10 October 4 1864—What was to become the nation’s first Black daily newspaper began publishing on this day in New Orleans, La. Amazingly, the New Orleans Tribune began distribution while slavery still existed. It was founded by Dr. Louis C. Reudanez. It began as a tri-weekly but soon became a daily published in both French and English. 1969—Howard Lee and Charles Evers became the first Black mayors of Chapel Hill, N.C., and Fayette, Miss., respectively. Evers was the brother of civil rights legend Medgar Evers who was murdered by Ku Klux Klan member Byron De La Beckwith on June 12, 1963. 1988—The Martin Luther King Jr. federal building is dedicated in Atlanta, Ga. It thus became the first federal building to bear the name of the slain civil rights leader. CHARLES EVERS October 5 1867—The first Black mayor of any American city takes office. His name was Monroe Baker. The prominent businessman was appointed mayor of St. Martin, La., two years after the end of slavery. October 6 INSPIRATION—Jazz musician Roy Ayers looks on during his workshop with young music artists at 1847—The first National Black Convention takes Funda Centre in Soweto, South Africa, Friday, Sept. 29. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe) place in Troy, N.Y. There were over 100 delegates in attendance from at least nine states. Top items on the agenda included determining ways to help end slavery and encouraging free Blacks to refuse to purchase products produced by slave labor. Frederick Douglass frequently makes note of the convention because one of its aims was to organize independent Black power and “not depend on Whites and hope” to free Blacks. 1871—The now world famous Fisk Jubilee Singers begin their first national tour. The tours helped raise vibraphone player who has delved into a by Christopher Torchia FISK UNIVERSITY GRADUATES funds for Nashville, Tenn.’s, predominately Black Fisk range of musical genres, including funk University as well as give the school an international Associated Press Writer and rhythm and blues. reputation. “All these people that you admire in life, JOHANNESBURG (AP)—Jazz musi1917—Activist Fannie Lou Hamer is born in Montthese people, whoever they are, they are cian Roy Ayers on Friday offered some gomery County, Miss. She goes on to become one of the people that inspired you. Sometimes you rhythmic advice for youths in Johanmajor female figures in the Civil Rights Movement of the don’t really concentrate on it, but you nesburg’s Soweto area: Get serious, be 1960s. Nevertheless, she remains one of the movement’s inspired, rap on, keep on and “eventually have to get to that point,” said Ayers, who most effective unsung heroes. As to why she became has performed at the Standard Bank Joy you’ll get it.” involved in the movement for Black freedom, dignity and of Jazz festival in Johannesburg that ends political rights, she would often say in reference to injusAyers, who is in South Africa for a music festival, radiated enthusiasm while Saturday. tice, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Ayers named a few musicians who have urging a couple of dozen people at an 1971—The first legal interracial marriage takes place inspired him: Nigerian Fela Kuti (“he was in North Carolina. A Black man, John Wilkinson, arts center to “vibe on” role models even really like a genius”), Herbie Mann (“he if they don’t always meet expectations. marries a White woman, Lorraine Mary Turner. taught me the business”) and Miles Davis His audience responded with nods and The marriage came a few years (“He was the coolest. He was the grandapplause, and the composer of the 1976 after the 1967 U.S. Supreme master. He was out of sight”). hit “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” had Court ruling in Loving v. VirFANNIE LOU HAMER The American musician stood in front of his chance to clap when performers took ginia, that ruled legal barriers a painting that included images of Nelson the microphone to sing, rap, play drums to interracial marriage, which existed in most Southern states, were unconstitutional. October 7 1821—One of the most prominent Blacks in the Underground Railroad, William Still, is born near Bedford, Mass. The “Underground Railroad” was the name given to a series of secret trails and safe houses used to help Blacks escape from slavery in the South to freedom in the North. 1897—The founder of the Nation of Islam Elijah Muhammad is born Elijah Poole in ELIJAH MUHAMMAD Sandersville, Ga., as one of 13 children. Muhammad would build his religious sect into the largest independent Black separatist organization in America. The group is currently headed by Min. Louis Farrakhan. Muhammad died in February 1975. 1934—Activist, writer and poet Imamu Baraka is born Everett LeRoi Jones in Newark, N.J. Baraka was one of the leading intellectual figures in the Black Power and Black Nationalist movements of the 1960s and early 1970s. A special tribute honoring Baraka’s 75th birthday took place around this time IMAMU BARAKA last year. 1967—Carl Stokes is elected the first Black mayor of a major American city—Cleveland, Ohio. Interestingly, STILL WORKING HARD—Jazz musician Roy Ayers, background plays an African Marimba instrument he won by defeating Seth Taft—the grandson of a former during his workshop with young music artists at Funda Centre in Soweto, South Africa, Sept. 29. (AP United States president—Howard Taft. Photo/Themba Hadebe) 1993—Writer Toni Morrison is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Mandela and former archbishop Desmond and recite poetry. October 8 Tutu, towering figures in the history of “You guys, you have to pick your pla1775—Slaves and free Blacks are officially barred South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle. teau. Get serious about everything,” said by the Council of Officers from joining the ConRapula Pelle, an audience member, told Ayers, a Los Angeles-born vocalist and tinental army to help fight Ayers that he was inspirfor American independence ing. from England. Nevertheless, TONI MORRISON “Seeing you here, you’re a significant number of Blacks giving us strength and had already become involved in the fight and would distinthat power and wisdom to guish themselves in battle. Additional Blacks were barred continue. I bless you, my out of fear, especially in the South, that they would demand father,” Pelle said. freedom for themselves if White America became free from Ayers, who turned 77 last Britain. month, said he has been 1941—National Black political leader and two-time candicompared to benchmark cities across working hard and suggest- date for president of the United States Rev. Jesse Jacked he was on the cusp of son was born on this day in Greenville, S.C. After the 1968 the nation in something new. assassination of Civil Rights Movement icon Dr. Martin LuREV. JESSE JACKSON “I’m just making it now,” spending by arts ther King Jr., Jackson, who was one of his top aides, would he said. become the nation’s most prominent and influential civil organizations, (Follow Christopher Torchia rights leader. on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ arts revenue, October 9 torchiachris) 1806—Benjamin Banneker dies in Ellicott Mills, jobs, household Md., at age 74. Banneker was a brilliant mathematician incomes and with a great memory and is credited with completing the THE layout and design of Washington, D.C. NEW PITTSBURGH tax revenues 1823—Mary Ann Shad is born. She becomes publisher COURIER of Canada’s first anti-slavery newspaper—The Provincial according to a PUBLISHING COMPANY Freeman. In fact, she is the first woman in the U.S. or new study. The Canada to edit and publish a newspaper. 1962—The east African nation of Uganda becomes report also found Publication No.: USPS 381940 independent from British rule. persistent racial 315 East Carson Street 1984—W. Wilson Goode makes history by becoming Pittsburgh, PA 15219 inequality and BENJAMIN BANNEKER the first Black mayor of PhilPhone: 412-481-8302 unequal access to adelphia, Pa. Fax: 412-481-1360 2009—In a move which surprised just about everyone, resources. Listen President Barack Obama is awarded the Nobel Peace The to Pittsburgh Profiles with KQV reporter Prize. Obama had been in office for less than 9 months at New Pittsburgh Courier this time but the Nobel Committee in Oslo, Norway, said Elaine Effort this week for all the details. it was impressed by his “promise” of disarmament and is published weekly diplomacy. October 10 periodicals 1778—What is believed to be the first formal school for paid at Pittsburgh, Pa. Blacks—the Africa Free School—opens in New York City. 1899—Black inventor Isaac Johnson patents the bicycle PRICE $1.00 frame. 1901—Frederick Douglass Patterson is born. He FREDERICK DOUGLASS (Payable in advance) grows up to 6 Months.....$25 become President of Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn. From there he would later 1 Year....$45 launch an effort that leads to the 1944 2 Years...$85 founding of the United Negro College Fund. 1917—Famed Jazz pianist Theolonius 9 Month School Rate $35 Monk is born in Rocky Mount, N.C. 1935—George Gershwin’s “Porgy and POSTMASTER: Send Bess,” a Black spiritual opera, premiers on address changes to: Broadway in New York City. It starred Todd Duncan from Howard University. The play New Pittsburgh Courier becomes one of the most popular Blackthemed shows ever to hit Broadway. The 315 East Carson Street SIDNEY POITIER and DOROTHY DANDRIDGE 1959 movie version stars Sidney Portier Pittsburgh, PA 15219 in ‘PORGY AND BESS’ and Dorothy Dandridge.
Roy Ayers tells Soweto youths: Get serious and get inspired
Allegheny County ranks No. 1…
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Smithsonian’s Black history museum popular destination in D.C. by Jesse J. Holland WASHINGTON (AP)—In its first year, the Smithsonian’s new Black museum has become the nation’s top temple to blackness, an Afrocentric shrine on the National Mall where people of all races, colors and creed are flocking to experience —and leave behind for posterity—the highs and lows of African-American life in the United States. “This has become more than a museum. This has become a pilgrimage site,” said Lonnie Bunch, founding director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, in an interview with The Associated Press. The nation’s first Black president, Barack Obama, opened the new Smithsonian to a standing room-only crowd Sept. 24, 2016, with the ringing of a church bell. Since then, the Smithsonian’s 19th—and so far, most popular—museum has only become more beloved. Free advance timed tickets sell out months in advance and people line up outside the doors every morning in hopes of snagging rare sameday passes. To celebrate the one-year anniversary, the museum extended its hours September 23 and 24 so more people could get inside to see exhibits designed to take visitors through African-American history in this country: from slavery, on the lower level, to a reproduction of Oprah Winfrey’s television set upstairs and artifacts from Obama’s first presidential campaign. Ground for the $540 million museum was broken in 2012 on a 5-acre tract near the Washington Monument. Construction was completed in 2016. Millions of donors contributed $315 million in private funds ahead of the opening. Nearly 3 million people have visited in the first year to see exhibits ranging
from the glass-topped casket used to bury lynching victim Emmett Till to a fedora owned by late pop superstar Michael Jackson and a slave cabin from Edisto Island, South Carolina. “We expected 4,000 people a day,” Bunch said. “We get 8,000 people a day, so I can’t complain about a thing.” The museum and its exhibits are still changing and evolving. For example, some conservatives complained there was originally no mention of the Supreme Court’s second African-American justice, Clarence Thomas, anywhere in the museum. There is now, in a new Supreme Court exhibit, Bunch said.
And they’re still collecting and evaluating artifacts from around the country for inclusion in the museum, from slavery artifacts to items from the recent Black Lives Matter movement. And people are always willing to give, Bunch said.Much of the material inside the museum comes from inside people’s homes and personal collections. Actress Pam Grier told the AP in an interview that she had several pieces of her movie wardrobe from her extensive career that she planned to donate to the museum soon. Bunch, when told, immediately started making plans to contact Grier. But just as important as the exhibits
are the emotions and the memories the museum evokes, Bunch said. Wandering through the museum, he can often see grandmothers explaining the Jim Crows South to children, and fathers and sons talking about the joys and horrors of growing up in a segregated United States. “Because you have these collections, it allows people to open up to share stories to find memories. I’ve heard many times people say, ‘I forgot, but once I saw a segregated door or once I saw that washboard it brought back those memories,’” Bunch said. “So what we wanted has happened. This museum has humanized history.” Unlike other museums, the museum wants people to leave something behind when they visit through a feature they call Visitor Voices, where museum attendees can talk about their feeling about the museum and about life as an African-American in the United States. John Frazier, 76, of Durham, North Carolina, recorded his memories of protesting and being beaten in Winona, Mississippi, in 1960 while trying to integrate a bus station. “I was brutally beaten and yanked off the bus, stripped naked, brutally beaten again, and with whiskey poured all over my naked body,” said Frazier, former president of the NAACP Mississippi Youth Council in the 1960s. Taylor Pearson of Baltimore, in her video, talked about her discovering her racial identity in prekindergarten. Classmates refused to let her play a princess game because, as Pearson said she was told, “There’s no such thing as a black princess.” That there is a major Black history museum will help other little Black and brown girls, Pearson said. “This museum is kind of like a homecoming,” she said. It gives me a “feeling like I have a place here and that in being Black you can be beautiful, too.”
LAS VEGAS (AP)—Former football legend O.J. Simpson became a free man Sunday after serving nine years for a botched hotel room heist in Las Vegas that brought the conviction and prison time he avoided in the killings of his ex-wife and her friend after his 1995 acquittal in the “trial of the century” in Los Angeles. Simpson was released at 12:08 a.m. PDT from Lovelock Correctional Center in northern Nevada, state prisons spokeswoman Brooke Keast told The Associated Press. She said she did not know the driver who met Simpson upon his release and didn’t know where Simpson was immedi-
ately headed in his first hours of freedom. “I don’t have any information on where he’s going,” said Keast, who watched as Simpson signed documents and was let go. Tom Scotto, a close Simpson friend who lives in Naples, Florida, said by text message that he was with Simpson following his release. Scotto didn’t respond to questions about where they were going or whether Simpson’s sister, Shirley Baker of Sacramento, California, or his daughter, Arnelle Simpson of Fresno, California, were with him. The three had attended Simpson’s parole hearing in July at the same prison where
Simpson spent his prison term and was released just minutes into the first day a parole board set for his possible release. Simpson has said he wanted to move back to Florida, where he lived before his armed robbery conviction in Las Vegas in a September 2007 confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers. But Florida prison officials said documents weren’t filed, and the state attorney general says she doesn’t want Simpson to live in the state. The 70-year-old Simpson gains his freedom after being granted parole at a hearing in July. Unlike the last time he went
free, 22 years ago, he will face restrictions—up to five years of parole supervision—and he’s unlikely to escape public scrutiny as the man who morphed from charismatic football hero, movie star and TV personality into suspected killer and convicted armed robber. Simpson was looking forward to reuniting with his family, eating a steak and some seafood and moving back to Florida, LaVergne said recently. Simpson also plans to get an iPhone and get reacquainted with technology that was in its infancy when he was sent to prison in 2008, his attorney said.
Associated Press Writer
SHARING VISION—In this Sept. 21 photo, Lonnie Bunch, director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, talks about the museum’s first year and his vision for the future of the exhibits, in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
O.J. Simpson out of prison after nine years for armed robbery
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Clairton celebrates new High School Hall of Fame in grand fashion CLAIRTON FROM A1
up on his football dreams and join the Army, he got a call to try out for the Arena Football League’s Denver Dynamites. During his rookie year with the Dynamites, Mullen was named MVP after his team won, 45-16. His prowess during the 1987 season led him to play three games with the Chicago Bears during the NFL players strike. When the Dynamites suspended operations in 1988, Mullen went to play with the Los Angles Cobras. After the 1988 season, the Cobras and many other arena teams folded. Mullen signed with the Detroit Drive and played from 1990-1992. In 1994 he was chosen to play with the Milwaukee Mustangs and played from 1994-1995. Mullen’s two brothers also played professional football. His younger brother, Keith, played arena ball with the Columbus Thunderbolts and his older brother, Davlin, played cornerback for the New York Jets. “I love the Clairton Bears and I always wanted to play for them,” said Davlin Mullen, who graduated from Clairton High School in 1978. “On Friday nights you could see the stadium lights from the projects. It was all that meant any-
“I LOVE THIS TOWN”—1980 Clairton graduate Gary Mullen was one of 13 inducted into the inaugural Clairton High School Hall of Fame, Sept. 21. (Photo by J.L. Martello) thing to you. If you didn’t want to play for the Bears something was wrong with
you. The Clairton Bears are the team. I will stand in the rain to watch them
play.” Davlin and Gary Mullen were two of the 13 athletes
inducted into the Clairton High School Hall of Fame, Sept. 21 at the Clairton High School gymnasium. It was the first event of its kind, and for the inaugural edition, inductees were all professional athletes from the area. Pauline Long, Hall of Fame committe coordinator, told the New Pittsburgh Courier that future inductions into the Clairton High School Hall of Fame will include those of different professions. The other inductees were: Michael Micka (posthumous), Clairton High School class of 1940 who went on to play for the Washington Redskins and the Boston Yanks; Joseph Pagliei, class of 1952 who went on to play for the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Titans; James H. Kelly, a 1960 Clairton High School graduate who went on to play tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles; J. Stewart Johnson, a 1962 Clairton High School graduate who played nine years in the ABA and several years of European basketball; Ronald Lancaster (posthumous), a 1956 Clairton High School graduate who went on to play for Saskatchewan and coached Canadian ball; Jonathan
Marshall, a 1970 Clairton High School graduate who played on Sweden’s European basketball team; Lamont Meacham, a 1978 Clairton graduate who played with the Baltimore Colts, Toronto Argonauts, and Ottawa Roughriders; Wayne Wade Jr., a 1990 graduate of Clairton High School and current coach of the Bears football team, who also played for the Milwaukee Mustangs; Daven Holly, a 1990 graduate of Clairton High School who played for the San Francisco 49ers, Chicago Bears and Cleveland Browns; Kamela Gissendanner, a 2003 graduate of Clairton High School who played basketball with the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks and European Slovakia basketball; and Tyler Boyd, a 2013 Clairton High School graduate who currently plays for the Cincinnati Bengals. “This is a huge accomplishment,” said Wade about the Hall of Fame. “I’ve been watching or playing a team sport since I was 6 years old. These types of honors make it worthwhile. I tell the kids that I coach that it’s all about the decisions you make. If you make the right decisions things will work out for you and you will go far in life.”
KAMELA GISENDANNER, CLASS OF 2003 (Photos by J.L. Martello)
JONATHAN MARSHALL, CLASS OF 1970
LAMONT MEACHAM, CLASS OF 1978
PAULINE LONG, HALL OF FAME COMMITTEE COORDINATOR
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Nearly 20 colleges commit extra funds, support to Promise grads PROMISE FROM A1
funding. The partners will also provide the Promise grads with extra social and academic support programming. “Data tell us unequivocally that certain support services make a dramatic difference in a kid’s ability to not just go, but go and perform at high levels and then eventually complete their post-secondary education,” said Promise Executive Director Saleem Ghubril at the Sept. 27 press conference announcing the partnership. “I’m pleased to announce that 19 institutions have made this commitment.” Also pleased was Promise Board Chair Franco Harris, especially since select campuses of his alma mater, Penn State, are among the Preferred College Partners.
“When you work on something like this, it’s very rewarding to see these kids succeed. So, today’s announcement is another great step to helping our children not just reach that goal, but to see it through,” he said. “I’m happy to be part of making that happen—and that some of the Penn State campuses are in, so the kids going there might get to the main campus where they can see some great football.” The 19 schools that have signed on as partners are: Allegheny College, Carlow University, Community College of Allegheny County, Chatham University, Carnegie Mellon University, Duquesne University, Geneva College, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, La Roche College, select campuses of Penn State Univer-
ago, Ghubril said, the Promise began with “an ambitious agenda and an audacious goal to raise $250 million.” To date it has raised $196 million, and has awarded more than 7,300 scholarships worth more than $102 million. Beginning with the Class of 2017, the maximum scholarship amount students can receive over a four-year period was lowered to $30,000 from $40,000 to help lengthen SALEEM GHUBRIL, executive director of the Pittsburgh Promise, the life of the program. speaks to supporters during the Sept. 27 announcement of 19 colTo be eligible for the full leges committing extra funds and support to the Promise. (Photo amount, students in Pittsby J.L. Martello) burgh Public Schools need to have started in Kindergarten, have a 2.5 GPA and sity, Pittsburgh Techniand Westminster College. 90 percent attendance. Stucal College, Point Park At its inception 10 years University, Robert Morris University, Saint Vincent College, Seton Hill UniFresh Boneless-Skinless Fresh - Whole versity, Slippery Rock University, Susquehanna University, Thiel College
PORT AUTHORITY FROM A1
Authority Spokesman Adam Brandolph said the first meeting to get feedback from Mon Valley riders on the proposed changes, was to be held at the Avenue Apartments in Braddock, Oct. 3. “Everyone in the Mon Valley is affected to some extent by these proposed changes; we want their input,” Brandolph said. Much of what he’s heard revolves around the issues of free transfers—people don’t want to pay another fare to switch buses in Oakland, for a ride they only pay once for now—and of frequency. Riders want more buses more often, even in non-peak hours. “That’s not unique to these neighborhoods. Everyone would rather wait eight minutes than 30,” Brandolph said. “These days we see a lot of bunch—three of the same exact buses in a row,
and the fourth not for 20 minutes. What we want is fewer buses with 80 passengers and fewer with eight.” Brandolph said some of the feedback so far has been well pointed and made suggestions on minimizing the impact the BRT changes will make, which is why they have scheduled two more Mon Valley meetings: Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Palisades, 100 Fifth Ave. in McKeesport, and Oct. 18, 6:30 p.m. at the Duquesne City Hall, 200 2nd St. in Duquesne. “Everything is on the table that’s why we’re having these meetings,” he said. “We don’t have all the answers.” The authority has also posted a survey designed for Mon Valley riders to address BRT changes, which has been posted on the authority’s main webpage at www.portauthority.org.
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Port Authority holding two more BRT meetings and on toward McKeesport, one toward Squirrel Hill— and the final branch would carry passengers to East Liberty, Homewood and Wilkinsburg via the East Busway. The bottom line is, 61s, 71s, (with 2 exceptions) and 12 others on routes numbered from 28 to 93—would no longer serve Downtown. Inbound passengers would change in Oakland to a BRT. Heading outbound, most routes would stay the same; the 61A, 61B and 61C follow the same routes and terminate at the same stops. The 61D stops in Greenfield—outbound, and inbound—becomes the Squirrel Hill BRT. The 71s all follow the same routes beyond Oakland and end at the same stops. The P3 would end in Wilkinsburg, and no longer go to Swissvale.
dent entering city schools as late as ninth grade are still eligible for 75 percent of the full amount. Chelsea Lewis, a graduating senior at Pittsburgh CAPA, is a Promise Ambassador, having interned with the program over the summer. In addition to promoting the program, she will now also be promoting its new Preferred Partners throughout the district. “I’ve learned a lot about GPAs and grant applications and the transition to college that I’ll be passing on,” she said. “And I look forward to promoting our Preferred Partners.” The program starts in the fall of 2018.
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PPS expands ‘Restorative Practices’ to 10 more schools PPS FROM A1
PreK-5, Pittsburgh King PreK-8, Pittsburgh Manchester PreK-8, Pittsburgh Miller PreK-5, Pittsburgh Oliver Citywide Academy, Pittsburgh Perry High School, Pittsburgh Milliones 6-12, Pittsburgh Weil PreK-5, and Pittsburgh Westinghouse 6-12.
Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services Dara Ware Allen, PhD, who is overseeing the team that will roll out the expansion, said these 10 schools were chosen primarily, but not exclusively, because of existing feeder patterns. “Faison was one of the
original 22 schools in the study, so adding Lincoln and Westinghouse makes sure we have vertical alignment and a (programmatic) continuum from Kindergarten through 12th grade,” she told the New Pittsburgh Courier. “Some of the other schools asked to opt in early, and others
we reached out to, based on data we have that indicated they would benefit from additional support.” The move toward establishing restorative practices throughout the district was driven by the high rate of Black student suspensions vs. their White counterparts and the real-
ization that, under then-existing procedures, there was no positive behavioral reinforcement; students left school for a number of days and came back—the initial conflict was never addressed or resolved and the student was further behind. But Dr. Ware Allen said the practices implemented so far have also enabled a more proactive approach to discipline, and not just from administrators. “Staff are reporting it is a way to get students to understand the harm they caused and their impact and allow everyone to understand what happened, why and how to make it right,” said Dr. Ware Allen. “We’ve also learned in some cases staff have been innovators, gotten training on their own and are taking it to a level with student advisory groups that provide voice and help with implementation. It’s also a way to get to know students proactively—student-to-student and teacher-to-student. It can also be used to differentiate way to deliver lessons.” She said even in schools that do not have the full restorative practices regimen in place, partial analytics they have indicate progress is being made. “RAND is giving us quarterly updates, so while we don’t have the complete report yet, suspensions are going down across the district and we’re seeing a narrowing of racial disproportionality in the vs control group schools,” she said. “We’re also seeing a decrease in recommendations for exclusionary discipline, fewer and less punitive responses to conduct and more inter-
ventionary work.” Part of that, Dr. Ware Allen said, is the result of the new code of conduct implemented this year, which reduces the severity of sanctions for some offenses and modifies disciplinary application. “We’ve been moving in this direction for some time—not just applying a ‘recommended outcome,’ we have hearings, collect information and try to keep things consistent but still allow for equity in individual circumstances,” she said. “For instance, the new code of conduct does take instigation into account for fights. Overall it reduces number of days out—except where there’s a melee. And this is going on in the schools that don’t even have restorative practices yet.” Dr. Ware Allen also said the district is creating an electronic data system to track conduct violations, actions and responses throughout all the schools, to maintain consistency and to implement improvements where needed. In a Sept. 26 press release, the district said it plans to install restorative practices in 10 more schools in the spring, and is currently reviewing which those will be. The remaining district schools will all have the regimen in place by next fall. “Through a system-wide multi-tiered system of support process, which includes the use of restorative practices coupled with positive behavioral interventions and supports, we can meet the needs of students both academically and behaviorally,” added Superintendent Dr. Anthony Hamlet.
Happy No. 102!
The New Pittsburgh Courier would like to extend 102nd birthday wishes to Ms. Ada V. Blackman! The Legacy Apts. in the Hill District recently celebrated the occasion with refreshments, laughter, and of course, pure joy. Veteran Courier photographer J.L. Martello captured this outstanding photo of Ms. Blackman on her special day. To see more pictures from Ms. Blackman’s birthday, go to new pittsburghcourier.com
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
PEOPLE
OCTOBER 4-10, 2017
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‘Getting my diploma was the best feeling I’ve had since I lost my sister. She was and is truly my motivation, even after death.’
JAZMYN PALMER, right, with McDonald’s owner/operator Twila Mezan.
Jazmyn Palmer perseveres McDonald’s ‘Archways to Opportunity’ program provided quite the opportunity for team member Palmer by Rob Taylor Jr.
gram provides assistance in earning a high school Courier Staff Writer diploma, receiving tuition assistance for college Jazmyn Palmer was this classes, and helping learn close to getting her high English. school diploma. “At McDonald’s, we are “High school was easy for committed to helping peome,” she said. But Palmer admitted that ple further their education her behavior was the main and achieve their dreams,” said Global Chief People issue. “Once I was kicked Officer David Fairhurst out as a senior, two weeks in a news release on its shy of graduating, I had website. “Some of the best lost all hope of getting a diploma. My parents want- people in the world work ed me to go back but I had here. And whether they stay for a year or for their lost all hope and motivaentire career, we believe in tion, so I focused more on investing in their future.” work instead.” Through the program, It’s a story that isn’t necessarily uncommon to some Palmer received her high school diploma by complethigh school-aged students ing Career Online High in the Pittsburgh area. School, a nationally-acBut Palmer’s story dives credited program creatdeeper. “In 2014, I lost my sister, who was my biggest ed via Smart Horizons Career Online Education, motivator. Losing her sent the nation’s first private, me into a sort of depresaccredited online school sion that I can’t describe. Every day I thought about district. Through Archways to Opportunity, Career Onhow she wanted me to get line High School is offered my diploma and how her to McDonald’s employees 8-year-old daughter looks at no cost. up to me, so I knew it was Earlier this summer, time.” Palmer’s diploma was A McDonald’s employee awarded to her, surat the Pittsburgh International Airport location, rounded by Mezan and others. “I am so honored Palmer, with the encourand thrilled to be able agement of store owner to support Jazmyn and Twila Mezan, enrolled other students who have into the McDonald’s the desire to earn their “Archways to Opportunihigh school and college ty” program. degrees,” Mezan told the Launched in 2015, ArchCourier in a statement. ways to Opportunity is a “She is a bright young workforce education program that, according to its lady,” as McDonald’s saw website, has enrolled more Palmer’s potential, she than 5,000 people. The pro- said. “We are lucky to
LOOK! IT’S KEA MICHAELS AND RALPH P. WATSON! You know they “love them some Courier,” as Watson prepares for his third annual Classic Events! “Salute to Legal Excellence” this Friday, Oct. 6 at the Marriott City Center.
have her as part of our team.” “Getting my diploma was the best feeling I’ve had since I lost my sister.
She was and is truly my motivation, even after death,” Palmer revealed to the Courier. Palmer, now 22, said she’d
like to become a veterinarian or a journalist. “I’ve always felt as though my diploma held me back from being a
better me. Now that I have it, I feel like I can conquer anything I put my mind to. Wherever life takes me, I am absolutely ready for it.”
ENTERTAINER New Pittsburgh Courier
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OCTOBER 4-10, 2017
www.newpittsburghcourier.com
Home Sweet Home
It was a hometown party. Thousands were invited, thousands showed up. Wiz Khalifa, Pittsburgh’s native son, came home to perform for his closest fans, Sept. 30 at the Thrival Music Festival in Swissvale. Story by Courier reporter Merecedes J. Howze Photos by Courier photographer Xavier A. Thomas Saturday, Sept. 30 was the date. Pittsburgh native Wiz Khalifa brought the annual two-day Thrival Music Festival at the Carrie Furnaces in Swissvale to an invigorating close with a 75-minute performance. The nippy fall night was resurrected as the Pittsburgh Allderdice graduate took center stage with his biggest hits spanning from his decade-long career. With his only hometown appearance this year, Wiz Khalifa’s oldies-but-goodies, like “Black and Yellow,” “Roll Up,” and “We Dem Boyz,” made the crowd go wild. The 30-year-old rapper has mad love for his city. Throughout the show, he made it evident that Pittsburgh was his home. “I am so happy to be in my city,” the former Hazelwood resident proclaimed. Martinea Goss, a 20-yearold college student from Homewood, enjoyed Wiz Khalifa and Ugly God, a
rapper who hit the stage earlier in the evening. “Wiz’s band was great! He naturally has dope stage presence, so it was cool seeing how much he appreciates his city and our support,” said Goss. The audience came to a somber halt when he performed his 2015 hit “See You Again.” From the Furious 7 soundtrack as a tribute to Paul Walker, Wiz Khalifa now holds the record for the most watched YouTube video with 3.1 billion views and counting. “Wiz, of course, was the highlight of the night, and a perfect ending to an already successful event,” said Lauren Brown, 23, of East Hills. Wiz Khalifa surely brought some of his ‘boys, including Pittsburgh rapper Chevy Woods, the ‘Burgh Boyz, and more. Woods performed for the thousands in the crowd as well. Wiz Khalifa’s hour-plus
long set featured his signature dancing, laughing, and of course, endless references to marijuana. Wiz Khalifa is a proponent of marijuana being legalized in Pennsylvania and across the country. Thrival Music Festival became an interactive experience for all ages. For the adults, there was a 21-and-up lounge area to purchase alcoholic beverages courtesy of Voodoo Brewery. For the foodies, there were six food trucks with select ales. And for the real artistry folks, there were live paintings by local artists. Brown thought the many attractions were “super dope. I have never seen something like that executed a concert setting before.” Other headlining artists included Kiiara and Logic, the latter as the headliner on Friday night, Sept. 29. (To see all the Courier photos from the Thrival Music Festival, go to newpittsburghcourier.com)
WAMO 100’s PORTIA FOXX, second from left, with Wiz Khalifa and members of the Burgh Boyz.
MARTINEA GROSS, 20, loved Wiz’s stage presence and the overall performance. Also pictured is Joe Jackson, 23. (Photo by Merecedes J. Howze)
WIZ KHALIFA performs at the Thrival Music Festival, Sept. 30 at Carrie Furnaces in Swissvale.
ENJOYING THE WIZ CONCERT, from left: Anthony Mabry, Tiona Henderson, Roy Bingham and Tina Bingham.
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
ENTERTAINER
OCTOBER 4-10, 2017
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From then, to now — Wiz Khalifa, Pittsburgh’s Megastar
WIZ KHALIFA, shown here with mother Katie Wimbush-Polk, left, and sibling Lala Thomaz, at Wiz’s high school graduation day from Allder- A PERFORMANCE TO REMEMBER, Sept. 30, at the Thrival Music Festival. Wiz Khalifa closed the festival with what many called an “outstanding” 75-minute performance. For more pics, go to newpittsburghcourier.com. (Photo by Xavier A. Thomas) dice in 2006. Lala passed away earlier this year.
CIERRA PATTERSON, 20, JEROME BAXTER, 23 (Photo by Merecedes J. Howze)
THE AUGUST WILSON LEGACY FUND of The Pittsburgh Foundation
Established in 2015 to support African American arts and to perpetuate the legacy of August Wilson Announces its 2017 – 2018 Grantmaking Year with a focus on: “Promoting Understanding by Combating Racism and Hatred” If you are an artist or small arts organization and would like to know more about how to apply, visit our website at: www.augustwilsonlegacyfund.org
CALVIN TURNER, SHEENA RICHARDSON (Photo by Xavier A. Thomas). To see more pics, go to newpittsburghcourier.com.
SHEILA McMILLAN, CHARDAE JONES (Photo by Xavier A. Thomas). To see more pics, go to newpittsburghcourier.com.
LIFESTYLES New Pittsburgh Courier
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OCTOBER 4-10, 2017
www.newpittsburghcourier.com
Debbie Norrell
Lifestyles Report Keep it on the low, O.J. On a quiet night around midnight Oct. 1, O.J. Simpson was released from the Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nevada after doing nine years for stealing his own items from a sports memorabilia dealer in Las Vegas. You may think the items he was trying to get back were football trophies; they were not. These were personal family items like photographs. Reportedly these items were stolen while he was moving from the house that he resided in when the Brown/Goldman murders took place. Unfortunately for O.J. he and some of his buddies tried to act like cowboys and liberate O.J’s belongings from the memorabilia dealer. As we all know that did not work, and Simpson went to jail for nine years. That is a long sentence for that kind of crime but many felt that the sentence was really about the murders that The Juice was acquitted for back in the mid-’90s. I couldn’t understand why he could not just keep quiet and live his life. I guess he didn’t realize that there was a large portion of the world that does not like him and the goal was to “lock him up.” Not only did they want him locked up they want all of his money. Now that he is out of slammer, the parents of his late wife are planning to come after him for money they feel they are owed from the civil case, $33.5 million. Hey O.J., I hope you have your ducks in a row this time. Did you take some time to think your life out while you were locked up? Just hours after you were released I heard a woman, young and blonde, just your type, look into the camera and say, “If you see O.J. smoking a cigarette, taking a drink, doing anything take out your phone and get a video we want it.” So you see, Mr. Simpson, they are watching for you and you will not be able to do much out of the ordinary. I heard one talking head trying to figure out where are you living, sounds like the new game is going to be “where in the world is O.J. Simpson.” Many think you are going to pop up on reality television. I hope that is not going to be the case. If you can find a golf course that will accommodate you, play and keep it on the low until the world gets used to your being free. Don’t hang around with your friends who carry guns, and by all means surround yourself with people that you trust. Remember your friend that you allowed to live out back? I’m just saying. For now, Simpson will be living in Las Vegas probably with a friend. Rumor has it that he wants to move to Florida and be close to two of his children. Florida corrections officials say they had not received a parole transfer request for Simpson and had not been contacted by their counterparts in Nevada. So expect a lot of news coverage to the whereabouts of O.J. This might be a welcome change. (Email Debbie at debbienorrell@aol.com)
THE SISTERS AND FRIENDS CHOIR (Photos by Debbie Norrell)
Sisters & Friends Getaway to Martha’s Vineyard by Debbie Norrell Lifestyles Editor
A trip to Martha’s Vineyard is a getaway many dream of, but thanks to Connie Portis, for the last 10 years hundreds of women have made their dream come true with a trip to Martha’s Vineyard with a great group of women and a fun, affordable vacation. The getaway has grown from 15 women in 2008 to over 100 in 2016 and 2017. Sisters and Friends head to The Vineyard the Sunday after Labor Day when the pace is slow and the tour-
HEADING ON A DAY TRIP—Connie Portis seated second from right
MOTHER AND DAUGHTER—Helena Ashley and Kristen Ashley Cooper
ist crowd is reduced. A large portion of the morning dips in the well- have a grand time. Portis is women come from Pittsburgh but the word known Inkwell at Inkwell the former publisher of the of this good time has spread to Maryland, Beach. Greater Pittsburgh Black Portis has put together Business Directory and ReVirginia, North Carolina, New Jersey and a most desirable getaway naissance News. For years California. The trip is two weeks long but most at- where ladies from vastly she produced the annual tend one week or the other. The weeks different backgrounds come Black Extravaganza and earmarked this year were September 10 together for a week and the Trailblazer Awards. through the 17 and September 17 through the 23. Guests enjoyed dynamic speakers, presenters and activity leaders. Some of the leaders from Pittsburgh included: Joyce Ellis, Delores Pratt Chandler, Joyce Broadus, Dr. Margaret Pettigrew, Debra Gloster and yours truly. There were tea parties where ladies made their own hats out of newspaper, wine and cheese sips, book discussions, day trips to Zion Union Museum, a thrift store f a s h i o n show and THE SISTERS AND FRIENDS MODELS of course
BOOK DISCUSSION HOST—Joyce Broadus
AUTHOR OF A GRAIN OF HOPE—Delores Pratt Chandler
MAKING PAPER HATS FOR THE TEA PARTY
GOOD READING ON THE FERRY—Charlene Stevie Grigsby
MOTHER AND DAUGHTER—Sharon Jones and Dolores Harris
RELIGION
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
Dancing in the aisles
OCTOBER 4-10, 2017
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Praise & Worship ST. BENEDICT THE MOOR CATHOLIC CHURCH Crawford & Centre Ave. Pgh., PA 15219 412-281-3141 Mass Sunday 9:00 A.M. & 11:00 A.M. Sunday (Gospel Choir Mass) 11:00 A.M. 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
Second Baptist Church of Homestead’s 112th anniversary
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
East Liberty Presbyterian Church Rev. Dr. Randy Bush, Senior Pastor 412-441-3800 116 S. Highland Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206
www.cathedralofhope.com
Journey Worship........8:45 a.m. Sanctuary Worship...11:00 a.m.
Curious about Quakerism? You Are Welcome at our Meetings for Worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Pittsburgh Friends Meeting 4836 Ellsworth Avenue 412-683-2669
HEAD PASTOR REV. DONALD P. TURNER (Photos by J.L. Martello)
PRESIDING OVER THE OCT. 1 SERVICE was Rev. Doyle Bursey. Second Baptist Church of Homestead celebrated their 112th Church Anniversary this past weekend.
For rate information, call 412481-8302, ext. 128.
GUEST PREACHER REV. GERALD CHAPMAN
TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEXT CHURCH EVENT!
TOMIKA COLEMAN, YVETTE FLETCHER
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Church Circuit
JERUSALEM WOMEN’S DAY
at the church. The guest speaker will be Rev. Darnell Leonard of the Sanctuary of Praise. All are welcome. For more information, call 412-242-3209.
OCTOBER 8—Jerusalem Baptist Church, 123 Steuben St. in the West End, invites all to celebrate Women’s Day. The 11 a.m. guest preacher will be Rev. Diane Hobson, pastor of Mt. Sinai Baptist Church, Charleroi. The 3:30 p.m. guest preacher will be Rev. Katrina Organ, pastor of Beulah Baptist Church, Pittsburgh. The theme for the day is, “Hope does not disappoint” (Romans 5:5). Dinner will be served immediately after morning worship service. Rev. Theodore E. Pugh Sr. is pastor. For more information, call 412921-0822.
HOLY CROSS FAMILY AND FRIENDS
OCTOBER 8—Holy Cross Episcopal Church, 7507 Kelly St., Homewood, will celebrate its Family and Friends Day at 10:30 a.m.
EMMANUEL BAPTIST FALL CONCERT
OCTOBER 13—Emmanuel Baptist Church, 245 Third Avenue, Rankin, will hold its Fall Concert featuring the Emmanuel Baptist Church Mass Choir, at 7 p.m. at the church. Please come and help Emmanuel Baptist lift up the name of Jesus in song. There will be a free will offering. Mrs. Gladys Holloway, choir director. Reverend Christopher T. Conti, MD, senior pastor.
Join our growing Praise and Worship Church Community!
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berfest, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the church’s Sumpter Hall. Eager shoppers will be dazzled with displays of unique pieces of art or crafts. The event will feature various locally-talented craftsmen, vendors and entrepeneurs who will creatively display their different types of art and crafts. For more information, call 412441-9706.
SPIRITUAL FORMATION WOMEN’S RETREAT
OCTOBER 27-28—Inner City Ministries and Triedstone Baptist Church are holding a Women’s Retreat, Spiritual Formation, at 4 p.m. Oct. 27 at Bishop Connare Retreat Center, 2900 Seminary Dr., Greensburg. This retreat will ST. JAMES AME help women understand “What OCTOBERFEST God requires of me, spiritual OCTOBER 14—St. James maintenance.” For more informaAME Church, 444 Lincoln Ave- tion, including hotel room availnue, will hold the Women’s Usher ability and prices, call 412-824Board No. 1’s 23rd Annual Octo- 3845 or 412-271-3000.
We want to place your event in our Church Circuit weekly calendar! Send info to: New Pittsburgh Courier 315 E. Carson St. Pittsburgh PA 15219 Or Email us! religion@ newpittsburgh courier.com
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PEOPLE
OCTOBER 4-10, 2017
by Renee P. Aldrich For New Pittsburgh Courier
“To be young gifted and Black, oh what a lovely precious dream…” The words to this iconic song by Nina Simone take on an entirely different frame of reference for 17-year-old Sundiata El Rice, a Pittsburgh CAPA high school senior studying theater. While still in elementary school, between the ages of 8 and 14, he won 25 martial arts special awards comprised of seven state championships, nine national and nine international. His trophies are too numerous to count for his achievements in Tang Soo Too, a form of Korean martial arts. Like many young men, he was exposed to martial arts via his exposure to Bruce Lee movies, the Rush Hour movie series, and, yes, video games. His grandmother, Aisha White, learned of his interest and took him to C.S. Kim karate school, enrolled him and El Rice took it from there. El Rice’s mother, Tashia Scott’El Terry, said she was “worried at first because I don’t think he was counting on how demanding it would be. And he was unaccustomed to taking discipline from a man such as his instructor. And truthfully, it did take him awhile to adjust. And just before he won his first competition, I saw it come together for him.” “Martial arts became the tool to help me deal with many of the things I was going through personally, like the fact that the man my mother married turned out to be mean and abusive,” El Rice revealed in an interview with the New Pittsburgh Courier. “This training became a way for me to vent and express some of the anger I was holding.” Bryant Sample, El Rice’s instructor at C.S. Kim karate school, said that “when I first met Sundiata, I picked up right away a sense of urgency within
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
The Sky’s The Limit From martial arts to acting, CAPA senior Sundiata El Rice conquers whatever he puts his mind to
him; it was not necessarily anger at people in general, just an energy that needed an outlet. As a result, I assigned him something that students don’t usually do until they’ve been with us at least six months; break a single board. I taught him how to do it and had him do it on his first day in our studio. “Sundiata wasn’t big, but he was intense, powerful and moved with an aggression that superseded his experience,” Sample said. “And was such a consummate learner that he absorbed the material I taught him like a sponge— no sooner than I gave it to him he had it; ultimately I would make him a kind of mini assistant to me.” All of this, while El Rice is still in elementary school. El Rice soon expressed an interest in doing commercials or some acting. His mother heard about auditions being held at the Kingsley Center for an independent film, “Blood First,” and asked him if he’d like to do it. They went for the audition and he was
selected for the role. “That experience kicked it off for me and opened up the world of local theater for me,” El Rice said. “I met and was able to work with a bunch of local actors and really got the bug.” Add actor to El Rice’s resume—and he’s still not in high school yet. Fast forward to 2015, and the CAPA ninth grader entered into and took first prize in the citywide August Wilson Monologue
Competition, coordinated by the late Bill Nunn, and his colleague, Demetria Boccella. The prize for this achievement included a $15,000 scholarship and a free weekend to New York City, where El Rice had Master classes with Kenny Leon and workshops with other acting coaches. For El Rice, it was his abiding love for Wilson, the iconic Pittsburgh playwright, which drove and increased his passion for
SUNDIATA EL RICE, right, age 15 in this photo, wins first place in the August Wilson Monologue Competition. Also shown are Alona Williams, second place, and Elexa Hanner, third place.
theater. “To be able to capture such eloquence in 10 plays which show the African American experience and let everyone be able to understand it, I feel makes him a true master,” El Rice spoke of Wilson. “Capturing the African American experience is one thing, but to do it so that people of all cultures understand it is something else again. I think this is what makes Wilson so special, it is why I love everything about his work.” It is the role of Levy in Wilson’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” that had the greatest impact on the young thespian. With a clear understanding of Wilson’s intent in creating the role, El Rice shared that “Levy’s life reflects so much of the pain of Black men in today’s society—even though the backdrop was 1910—there are many young men and older men who strive every day to function without addressing the unresolved issues of their past.” A year after the August Wilson Monologue Competition win, El Rice won the
Pittsburgh Public Theater Shakespeare Monologue Competition in 2016 for his performance of Henry’s monologue in “Henry the V.” At the time, nearly 1,300 students from over 80 schools competed. El Rice’s focus for the future is theater, music and filmmaking. He’d like to attend Morehouse College, the Juilliard School in New York City, or the University of Southern California. He credits his mother as his greatest inspiration. “If it wasn’t for this lady here, I wouldn’t be sitting in this interview with you right now. Her sacrifices for me and my brother and love and support are too many to name.” Scott’El Terry says her son has precision, passion and a very high level of focus. El Rice “knows how to channel all his energy into whatever the task is,” she said. “It will be his ability to focus and exercise awareness and self-control that will be the key in ushering him into continued excellence as he moves forward in life.”
BUSINESS New Pittsburgh Courier
Imani Christian— winning despite adversity Sports B9
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Fortune found just one Black woman for its ‘Most Powerful’ list by NewsOne Staff For New Pittsburgh Courier
ANN-MARIE CAMPBELL
When Fortune released its annual Most Powerful Woman list last week, editors at Black Enterprise were surprised to find that just one Black woman made the cut: Ann-Marie Campbell, the executive vice president of Home Depot’s U.S. stores. Fortune was consequently contacted and asked to compare and contrast the list’s criteria and definition “power” with Black Enterprise’s own 50 powerful Black women list, which was published in March. Black Enterprise editors spoke with Fortune senior writers Ellen McGirt and Beth Kowitt, as well as deputy digital editor Kristen Bellstrom, about the
There soon will be no Black female CEOs among Fortune 500 companies For New Pittsburgh Courier
Ursula Burns, the first Black woman to run a Fortune 500 company, will step down as CEO of Xerox when the company splits in two later this year. Once the move is complete, Burns will become the chairman of the printer, copier, and document technology company created from the split. This will subsequently mark a disturbing point in the world of big business: there will be no Black women serving as CEOs at Fortune 500 companies. According to the nonprofit research organization Catalyst, there are only
AVIS JONES-DeWEEVER
23 female CEOs among Fortune 500 companies. When Burns steps down, there will only be one woman of color among the group. The latest records show less than three percent of directors of Fortune 500 boards are Black, Hispanic, or Asian women, and there are only four Black Men CEOs within the world of these massive companies. During Monday’s edition of NewsOne Now, Roland Martin and his panel of guests discussed what looks to be the end of an era as it relates SEE CEO B2
notable exclusion of Black women such as Shonda Rhimes, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, Tracey T. Travis (CFO of Estee Lauder Companies), and Kathy N. Waller (CFO of Coca Cola), to name a few. Each of the women on Fortune’s list had an operational role in their company, the Fortune staffers said. “We have a couple of CFOs who have outside influence in their companies, but otherwise we really just consider women who are in oper-
ating positions,” Kowitt explained. In fact, McGirt said, Fortune’s list was reflective of, not contributing to, institutionalized racism in corporate America. “These lists reflect bigger systemic barriers that continue to exist,” McGirt argued. “I spent the last couple of months spending time with people like Roz Brewer and Ursula Burns and really interesting women, many of whom are not in operational roles, and we talked about why
that is and how that happened.” Ursula Burns, the former CEO of Xerox who resigned this year, so she was left off for that reason, Bellstrom acknowledged. Despite the explanations, Black Enterprise’s editors stood by their decision to celebrate powerful Black women regardless of the type of “role” they have. “It’s vital to offset [racism and sexism] by celebrating Black female business leaders who demonstrate resilience in breaking barriers that help pave the way for younger Black women to succeed,” Black Enterprise wrote.
“All of us working together can make Allegheny County, Pittsburgh and Southwestern Pennsylvania the best place to do business and the best place to grow.”
by NewsOne Now
“Diversity has now come in practice to mean White women.”
Black Enterprise found 50
RICH FITZGERALD Allegheny County Executive
EXCITED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES—Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald addresses area MBEs.
Allegheny County MWDBE Department touts new small business opportunities by Diane I. Daniels For New Pittsburgh Courier
Twenty-five years ago when the new Pittsburgh International Airport opened it was considered a leading-edge facility. It has received numerous awards and accolades for its efficient and creative ways it assists travelers and it’s recognized as a travelers’ choice favorite for shopping. Just recently it was named the 2017 Airport of the Year by Air Transport World. In August, Allegheny County Airport Au-
thority officials announced an estimated $1.1 billion terminal modernization plan. The project, according to Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, is expected to create more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs and produce $1.66 billion in economic activity. It is also expected to generate more than $28 million in state and local income taxes. “It’s these types of activities that are going on within Western Pennsylvania and Allegheny County,” said Fitzgerald, also mentioning the $200 million BRT Port
Authority Transit connecting corridor project and the work city and county officials are doing to recruit Amazon to the region. During his welcoming address to over 100 area MBE/WBEs he said that with all the spending and investments being made in the region, it’s important for city officials and everyone to be working together because of the benefits to the region. “All of us working together can make AlSEE MWDBE B2
New Nielsen study reveals growing spending power, influence of Black women by Stacy M. Brown For New Pittsburgh Courier
(NNPA)—A new report detailing the record-setting spending power of African American women has further buoyed the confidence of Black female entrepreneurs, who said the information proves their undeniable value to the United States and the global economy. The report titled, “African American Women: Our Science, Her Magic,” was released by Nielsen during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual legislative conference; it revealed that African American women’s consumer preferences and brand affinities are resonating across the mainstream culture, driving total Black spending power toward a record $1.5 trillion by 2021. The report also noted that Black women comprise 14 percent of all females in the U.S. (“24.3 million strong”) and 52 percent of all African Americans. With an average age of 35.1 years (versus 42.8 for non-Hispanic White women and 39.4 for all women), Black women have enjoyed steady growth in population, incomes and educational attainment. Sixty-four percent of Black women currently enroll in college right out of high school and 23 percent over the age of 25 have a bachelor’s degree or higher, up from 18 percent in 2005. Further, the report noted that the num-
CHERYL GRACE, the senior vice president of U.S. Community Strategic Alliances and Consumer Engagement for Nielsen, says that marketers must recognize the intercultural influence of Black women on the general market. In this photo, Grace (née Pearson-McNeil) speaks during the 2017 NNPA Mid-Winter Conference in Fort Lauderdale. (Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA) ber of businesses majority-owned by Black women grew 67 percent between 2007 and 2012, more than all women combined. The latest U.S. Census figures show African-American women have majority ownership in more than 1.5 million businesses with over $42 billion in sales. “This report is helpful to show banks and brands that Black women are highly
qualified to be recipients of fair lending and to be fairly represented in advertising campaigns,” said Samantha Gregory, the founder of the website richsinglemomma. com, a platform developed to help single mothers earn extra cash. “As a Black woman in technology and personal finance, who is also a business owner, those statistics are useful, when I am making a case
for working with brands for my blog and business. Gregory continued: “However, if the powers that be are not educated about these statistics, it is still challenging to get a seat at the table, where all the prime contracts are being handed out.” Briana Santirosa, the founder and CEO of online retailer, Casa de Reinas, said that after working in retail for four years, she made the decision to start her own business. Santirosa said that fashion and beauty industries often chose to ignore the purchasing power of Black women. “I do see the market beginning to recognize Black women more and cater to our spending preferences,” Santirosa offered. In Nielsen’s new Diverse Intelligence Series report, the global researcher paints a portrait of Black women as trendsetters, brand loyalists and early adopters, who care about projecting a positive self-image. As they wield that #BlackGirlMagic, Black women play an increasingly vital role in how all women see themselves and influencing mainstream culture across a number of areas, including fashion, beauty, television and music, the report’s authors said. “Black women have strong life-affirming values that spill over into everything they do. The celebration of their power SEE NIELSEN B2
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BUSINESS
OCTOBR 4-10, 2017
BUSINESS CALENDAR Breakfast Meeting
OCT. 12—The African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pa. And the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce present a Special Breakfast Meeting with guest speaker Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, 8 a.m., Rivers Club, One Oxford Center, Downtown. The governor will discuss the role small businesses in moving Pennsylvania forward. Cost: $25 for members, $40 for non-members. RSVP by Oct. 10. For more information, call 412-392-0610.
Publicity Workshop
OCT. 13—The Duquesne Small Business Development Center presents Getting Attention: how to get publicity for your business, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., 108 Rockwell Hall, 600 Forbes Avenue. This workshop allows you to discover the potential opportunities to get in front of your customers, many of which are free or no cost. The speaker, Janelle Aslam, owner of Start Something Solutions, will offer a wide range of tools and give clear examples of publicity for any growing business. Cost: $49. For more information, call 412-396-6233.
Insurance Workshop
OCT 18—The African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pa. presents Navigating the Business Insurance Landscape with Farmers Insurance, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Koppers Building Convention Center, 436 Seventh Ave., lower level conference room 4-H, Pittsburgh. The seminar will give attendees insight into the insurance landscape, different types of business insurance and entrepreneurial opportunities. Cost: $10, $20 for non-members. For more information, call 412-392-0610.
Cybersecurity Workshop
OCT. 19—The African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pa. Presents a cyber security seminar with Omar Khawaja, VP and chief information security officer with Highmark Health, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Koppers Building Convention Center, 436 Seventh Ave., lower level conference room 4-H, Pittsburgh. Khawaja will discuss safeguarding the back office while staying connected in the front office and reducing risks of cyberattacks. Cost: $10, $20 for non-members. For more information, call 412-392-0610.
PowerBreakfast
OCT. 20—The African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pa. will host its monthly PowerBreakfast meeting, 7:30 a.m. at the Rivers Club, One Oxford Center, Downtown. The guest speaker will be Pennsylvania Gaming Board Commissioner Richard G. Jewell, who will discuss the industry, its job creation, and how to do business with casinos. Cost: 420, $30 for non-members. For more information call 412-392-0610.
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
MWDBE Department touts small business opportunities MWDBE FROM B1
legheny County, Pittsburgh and Southwestern Pennsylvania the best place to do business and the best place to grow,” Fitzgerald added. The BRT Port Authority Transit project Fitzgerald alluded to is the proposed Bus Rapid Transit system that will, in effect, get riders from Downtown to Oakland at a much faster rate by using a designated bus-only lane. From Oakland, the BRT system would have branches that take riders to Squirrel Hill, Highland Park and Wilkinsburg. This information, along with other updates, was shared during the annual County of Allegheny Department of Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Open House. Ruth Byrd-Smith, director of the Allegheny County department of Women, Minority and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, stressed the fact that it is important for businesses to utilize the Pennsylvania Unified Certification Program. The PAUCP provides “one-stop shopping” for firms seeking certification as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise. The
the area including the Diversity Business Resource Center on the North Side, the Community Empowerment Association in Homewood and the Hill District Community Development Corporation. The mission of the M W D B E department is to build the capacity of MWDBE-certified A CALL FOR ALL WOMEN AND MINORITY BUSINESSES—Ruth Byrd-Smith, Director businesses, of the Allegheny County MWDBE Department, conducts her 14th open house cere- to monitor mony. (Photo by Diane I. Daniels) contracts to ensure PAUCP makes certification Federal Highway Adminis- compliance with Allegheny decisions on behalf of all tration and Federal Tran- County goals and to proagencies and organizations sit Administration funded vide outreach and technical in the Commonwealth with contract as a Disadvan- assistance to the business respect to participation in taged Business Enterprise. community. MWDBE achievement the DBE Program. Firms The MWDBE office serves certified as a DBE with as a certifying participant goals include reviewing the PAUCP are eligible to in the PAUCP. The office subcontracting plans to departicipate in any Federal provides certification coun- termine the level of incluAviation Administration, seling sessions throughout sion, and monitor all con-
tracts to determine level of achievement to established goals. MWDBE contract inclusion goals are 13 percent for MBEs and 2 percent for WBEs. One business, “A good story” according to ByrdSmith, is E&S Parking and Transportation, Inc. operated by Edward Everett. E&S manages and operates the parking shuttle service at Pittsburgh International Airport. Retiring after 30 years Everett, providing old school wisdom, said when he first started his business he remembered something his mother taught him, to always have a rainy day fund, which he had by saving $20 a week in a shoe box and through a Christmas Club savings account. “Being a small business owner managing the unknown, he said no matter what, having that shoe box can save you,” Everett said. Everett’s next piece of advice is to stay current and to “stay woke.” He also stressed the importance of having good credit. “Do whatever it takes. Pay your bills on time and it takes sacrifices and hard work, but in the long run it pays off.”
The top 10 cities for Black businesses are...
by Roz Edward
For New Pittsburgh Courier
If you’re a Black entrepreneur and you don’t live in one of the following 10 cities, you may want to consider relocating. Blacktech Week used data from the U.S. Census Bureau to update its list from 2015 of cities where Black entrepreneurs thrive. The same cities made this new list that was previously published by NerdWallet, only they were ranked differently this time around, HuffPost reported. The top ten cities, defined as areas with more than 100,000 residents, follow: 1. Memphis, Tennessee (previously ranked third): Memphis has the lowest unemployment rate of the top 10 cities, a Black Business Association and a higher percentage of Black-owned businesses than Atlanta, the city commonly thought of as the best place for Black entrepreneurship.
2. Montgomery, Alabama: What’s boast-worthy about Montgomery is that it has “the highest percentage of Black businesses nationwide,” according to HuffPost. Black business-owners there can also consult the Alabama State Black Chamber of Commerce and Montgomery’s Chamber of Commerce Minority Business Development Task Force for support. 3. Atlanta/ Sandy Springs/ Marietta Georgia (down from first place): The top city for Black businesses in 2015, still has the “highest number of businesses per 100 habitants,” an unemployment rate that has decreased from 6 percent to 4.5 percent and the Atlanta Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce. 4. Washington/Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia: The “urrea” touted the highest median income for Black residents nationwide, the highest growth rate of startups (measured by number of employees) over the last five years and the
support of “National Black Chamber of Commerce, the Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce and BizLaunch, an entrepreneurship program.” 5. Savannah, Georgia (up from sixth place): Savannah’s rich jazz legacy attracts tourism, which has bolstered much of the Black business ownership in the oceanside city. 6. Baton Rouge, Louisiana (up from seventh place): Baton Rouge’s petrochemical industry has driven much of its business, as it has the “4th largest refinery in the US and 10th largest in the world.” 7. Durham, North Carolina (down from fifth place): “Several accelerators, co-working spaces, and entrepreneurial convening places” boosted Durham’s thriving Black business community, which has contributed to the city’s significant decrease in unemployment (from 6.1 percent to 3.8 percent). 8. Baltimore/ Towson, Maryland: Although the city took a financial
hit with the loss of many manufacturing jobs, the survival of small businesses has increased in the last five years. 9. Miami/ Fort Lauderdale/ Pompano Beach, Florida (up from 10th place): The trifecta that keeps this metro area in the top ten included an increase in median annual income ($16,091 to $23,309), a decrease in the cost of living and a decrease in unemployment (5.7 percent to 4.2 percent). 10. Richmond, Virginia (down from ninth place): With the “2nd highest average annual revenues for Black-owned businesses,” Richmond’s history of Black entrepreneurship secured its inclusion on the updated list. position. “The Jackson Ward neighborhood is commonly referred as ‘the birthplace of Black capitalism’ and is considered the second ‘Black Wall Street,’ after the Greenwood district in Tulsa, Oklahoma,” HuffPo wrote.
Spending power growing for Black women NIELSEN FROM B1
and beauty is reflected in what they buy, watch and listen to, and people outside their communities find it inspiring,” said Cheryl Grace, the senior vice president of U.S. Community Strategic Alliances and Consumer Engagement for Nielsen. “Understanding how Black women’s values affect their buying decisions has long been a marketing necessity.” Grace continued: “Now, marketers must also recognize the intercultural influence of Black women on the general market, as an increasingly vital part of how all women see themselves, their families and the rest of the world.” The African American woman’s independent mindset is present in her growing confidence, self-awareness and rising income, according to the report. Black women are not only redefining what it means to be a wom-
an for themselves, but are at the vanguard of changing gender roles and unlimited possibilities for American women of all ages and races. The report noted that 64 percent of Black women agree their goal is to make it to the top of their profession; 58 percent agree that they don’t mind giving up their personal time for work—20 percent higher than non-Hispanic White women. Further, 14 percent of Black women have annual incomes of $50,000 or higher with ages 35–49 enjoying the highest income within the Black female cohort. For millennial women, 81 percent have never been married, up from 71 percent in 2005 and, with an average household size of 2.47, 29 percent of total Black American households contain a married couple. Black women also have embraced the social media movement
#BlackGirlMagic, a term that describes a cross-platform gathering of empowered Black women who uplift each other and shine a light on the impressive accomplishments of Black women throughout the country. According to the report, Black women “over-index by 29 percent for spending three to four hours each day on social networking sites and by 86 percent for spending five or more hours each day on social networking sites.” Especially adept at using technology and social media to trade opinions and offer recommendations, Black women 18 and older, more than any other demographic group, have taken social media and adopted it for higher purposes, the report found. Whether they are buying cars, jewelry, smartphones or beauty products, the advice, referrals and feedback they receive from friends and community play an important
role in Black women’s purchases, the report said. Forty-three percent of Black women say they like to share their opinions about products and services by posting reviews and ratings online; 47 percent agree that people often come to them for advice, before making a purchase. “The trend of Black women becoming increasingly educated and driving the buying power of Black households, means that they are making purchase decisions that historically they didn’t make,” said Bianca Blake, a marketing specialist. “Couple that with trends of the millennial generation marrying and starting families later, the Black woman becomes an independent decision maker for much more of her journey through life, as opposed to abiding by decisions made by her parents, husband or heavily influenced by her children.”
No Black female CEOs CEO FROM B1
to Black women running companies in corporate America, what can be done to reverse this trend, and who diversity is actually benefitting. NewsOne Now panelist Avis Jones-DeWeever explained, “Diversity has now come in practice to mean White women.” She continued, “If you specifically look at who are CEOs in America and Fortune 500 companies since between 2008 and 2009, we’ve seen an increase of White women CEOs of Fortune 500 companies by four-fold.” “At the same time, we’ve only had that one Black woman ever in the history of Fortune 500 and the number of people of color generally have gone down,” said De-Weever. The founder of the Exceptional Leadership Institute for Women went on to explain “the problem” with our nation’s discussion about diversity, saying, “When we talk about diversity, when we talk about who is going to get the benefits,” we find that there is “more diversity among male CEOs in Fortune 500 companies than there is among female CEOs.”
OPINION
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
OCTOBER 4-10, 2017
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President Trump slapped Puerto Rico right in the face
Guest Editorial
Helping all in the Caribbean, the right thing to do President Donald Trump has declared his administration is responding to the calamity and destruction caused by hurricane Maria, leveling the island of Puerto Rico. However, the wide gap between his rhetoric and reports from government officials there about catastrophic conditions on the island raises concerns about the effectiveness of support efforts, not just for Puerto Rico, but all of the Caribbean islands that were hit hard by hurricanes Irma and Maria. Governments in several of these countries are starting to rebuild infrastructures, houses and communities with various agencies assistance on the ground support after Irma and Maria left widespread damage. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, so many residents of the islands are still looking for word of friends or family members. So many that the St. Thomas-based Virgin Islands Daily News has begun publishing a list of specific inquiries. On the island of Dominica, at least 27 people were killed by Maria, according to the chief of police. And 27 others remain missing, according to published reports In Cuba, as part of the national recovery plan with the Government, the United Nations is supporting the recovery of over 215,000 houses severely damaged by Hurricane Irma. The UN-wide recovery plan was presented this week in Havana. The Government of Barbuda has reported over 90 percent of buildings were destroyed, including all government premises. Citizens are reportedly living in neighboring Antigua until they can resume their lives back in Barbuda. Last year, YouGov found only 43 percent of Americans knew Puerto Ricans were U.S. citizens. A poll conducted after Maria by Morning Consult showed that number may be up, but only slightly: Just 54 percent of Americans knew Puerto Ricans were U.S. citizens. Other polls suggest the more U.S. citizens realize Puerto Ricans were Americans the more they favored granting the island residents aid. But here’s the wake up call: Aside from Puerto Rico, many of these countries are where a great number of Americans travel and spend their money, whether for vacation or business trips. Now is not the time for the American government and its people to turn a blind eye to our global neighbors south of us. Help should not be given based on a country’s political status with the United States. It should be given because it’s the humanitarian thing to do in helping our fellow brothers and sisters in their time of crisis. (Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)
“Please help us, we are dying,” the Mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico cried as she pleaded on CNN as well as other TV stations that picked up the CNN feed eight days after hurricanes Irma and Maria destroyed her island. Carmen Yulin Cruz also repeated the plea on an interview with Rachel Maddow on MSNBC the following day. After an excellent job of responding to the people of Texas and Florida who were hit by the previous two hurricanes, President Trump not only slapped Puerto Rico in the face by taking eight days before responding to them, he whacked them in the belly by insulting them, saying the people complaining wanted the government to do everything for them. Puerto Rico, which has been completely destroyed by hurricanes Irma and Maria, needs help desperately to make sure more people don’t die because of the lack of basics such as water, food and medical supplies. Not seeing this help coming and destruction all around her, the mayor cried out for help from anyone, but primarily from the U.S. For those of you who don’t know, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are U.S. properties and the residents are American citizens. So regardless of what Trump says, the U.S. is responsible for helping these millions of American citizens. Even if they weren’t, what kind of human being would not do all he or she could to save as many lives as possible. Former Lt Gen. Russell Honore, who was in charge of Hurricane Katrina’s rescue efforts, stated on CNN something that should be common sense. Instead of trying to get water, food and medicine to the people in conventional ways with no electricity, blocked roads, no gas, and destroyed homes, send in the military; they are trained for this. The government knew well in advance that hurricanes were going to destroy the islands, so they could have
Founded 1910
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Editor & Publisher Emeritus (1912-1997)
Just Sayin’
Anthem “Sons of B____.” CNN recently held a special town hall meeting with Spike Lee and NFL players and ex-players answering questions from the audience Most White people still believe the protest is about the military; even Hines Ward seemed confused, but Colin Kaepernick started the protest by taking a knee to protest the ongoing killings of mostly-unarmed Black males by police. This is the same issue that created the Black Lives Matter movement. There were several Whites and parents of military people killed in combat but I saw no parents of any of the young Black males killed by police. Are Trump and Whites once again saying that the lives of young men who die in the military (dying for your country) are more important than innocent young Black males killed by police? The Bible I read says all men/ women are created equal and so does the Constitution. If they are saying Blacks are unpatriotic, history says they are wrong. Blacks have fought and died in every war this country has been involved in, the declared as well as the undeclared wars. Matter of fact, the Pittsburgh Courier led a campaign during World War II (1940 through 1945) called the Double V campaign. The “V” stood for Victory at home as well as Victory abroad. The victory at home was aimed at racism, which we still haven’t overcome 77 years later. For some reason no one bothered to talk to Kaepernick, or maybe I missed it. In other news… The Republicans’ last ditch effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act failed because they could not get enough votes. They needed 50 with the vice president making 51. Now they will need 60. They are continuing their efforts to kill it in the states by underfunding it.
sent a carrier loaded with helicopters and supplies to search every part of the islands for survivors as well as dropping water, food and medicine to any home or area they saw people who needed them. I repeat what Gen. Honore said; our military is trained for this. Knowing that we have hurricanes every year, and they are getting worse every other year, why don’t we bring our military people home to save American lives instead of stationing them someplace in Europe or the Middle East? Trump showed once again just how sick he is by insulting the people of Puerto Rico by actually calling them lazy and stupid when he said they want the federal government to do it all for them. Well, these people pay taxes just like the people in Texas and Florida, and they deserve to be treated with respect. He should apologize but he won’t. I watched CNN and MSNBC so I saw the lines of cars for gas, the lines of people waiting for medical care, for food and water, as well as trying to get out. I saw the people helping each other as well as doing all they could to clean the areas blocking streets and homes. But there’s only so much people can do without the proper tools or electricity. It will be a blessing from God, and the work from these people, not Trump, if there aren’t an extreme number of deaths during the rescue period that could have been saved. Another storm started by Trump (Ulish Carter is the former managing editor was his calling all the NFL players who protested during the National of the New Pittsburgh Courier.)
… while Rome burned (TriceEdneyWire.com)—Historic references are frequently used to comparatively illuminate the character of current persons and/or events. Recently I have been reminded of the saying, “Nero fiddled while Rome burned!” In truth, Nero didn’t fiddle He, in greatest likelihood, played a lyre, a stringed instrument best described as a handheld harp. Important in this reference is not the description of a lyre. What is important is the lack of action of the Emperor Nero. Nero’s rule is associated with tyranny, corruption, extravagance, debauchery and emotional instability. He is most infamous for the executions of Agrippina, his mother, and Octavia, his wife. Several executions that he ordered were justified by false revisions of the truth, and yes, he was a known liar. Although some question its accuracy, many Romans are said to have believed that Nero started the Great Fire of Rome to clear space for his planned palatial complex—his Golden House. To remove suspicion from himself, it is said that he blamed Christians for setting the fire and began brutally executing many of them. Whatever the truth of the matter is, contemporarily, Nero is dramatically depicted as a self-absorbed, narcissistic maniac. Now fate presents another catastrophe of the magnitude of the Great Fire of Rome—Hurricane Maria. This storm, with strength and size rarely seen in this hemisphere, has devastated and fundamentally changed the history of Caribbean islands for decades. My
Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.
Commentary heart and prayers go out to all affected by Hurricane Maria (and Hurricane Irma). Specific to current concerns are the 3.5 million plus Americans on the islands of Puerto Rico, Vieques and the U.S. Virgin Islands that have been overwhelmed in the aftermath of Maria and who lack the immediate support and recovery assistance afforded hurricane victims in the Houston area and in Florida. Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico on Sept. 21. In its wake, the entire electrical grid was disabled and water service was cut-off to 75 percent of the island. Widespread flooding and/or wind-blown debris disrupted access to towns and cities throughout the island. Cell towers were knocked-down and communication on the island is severely disabled. Hundreds of people crowd the San Juan airport, where temperatures soar above 100 degrees, in hopes of securing a seat on an outbound airplane to relative safety. Of over 60 hospitals on the island, only 11 are operational. Others lack the electrical power necessary to provide adequate services. People line-up be-
fore dawn to get the limited supplies of ice to preserve their food and fuel to power generators and other machinery. Yet, it has taken #45 seven days to relieve Puerto Rico from the Jones Act and eight days to direct enhanced support from the US military. Lieutenant Gen. Russell Honore, who directed Katrina relief and recovery, has publicly criticized current relief efforts. It did not take General Honore to address the fact that the US military was the only single entity with the personnel resourced and trained to manage a catastrophe of this magnitude. He compares the 60,000 active duty and reserve soldiers assigned to the Katrina response to the inadequacy of the 5,000 assigned to relieve Puerto Rico. For over a week, broadcasters have suggested that it was not widely known that Puerto Ricans were Americans, too. That may be true, but I add that they are mostly Americans of color and speakers of the Spanish language. History has proven a standard of disparate treatment for persons so situated. Considering the lack-luster response of #45’s administration to the tragedy in Puerto Rico, it is easy to draw parallels between Nero and #45. In the midst of suffering, #45 has belatedly cast a blind eye on the needs of our island kin. We must not continue to accept or tolerate his neglect.
(Dr. E. Faye Williams, national president of the National Congress of Black Women, Inc. www.nationalcongressbw.org 202/678-6788)
Letter To The Editor
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
Ulish Carter
Open letter to high school freshmen Dear Editor: When I was younger, I thought Pittsburgh was a great city to live in because we are home to the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates. At 17, I now appreciate other aspects that make it “the most livable,” like having Google and other tech startups right in our backyard. However, as a Black teen, I am aware of stresses that have been caused by some growth in the East End as well as the city-wide disparities between Blacks and Whites. There is an urgent need for these disparities to be addressed if we want to continue to be considered “most livable.” In addition to the steps our elected officials, non-profits and companies are taking to solve these challenges, I see good news among my peers and I have hope. As I begin my senior year in high school, I am reflecting on the steps my friends and I have tried to prepare ourselves to be active participants in the region’s economy. As you begin your high school career, I hope you find these tips useful: No. 1—Take STEM classes and STEM opportunities seriously—even if you don’t plan to continue in a scientific field after high school. These classes may provide a
basis for the critical skills you will need in the workplace and also help to build your perseverance and confidence needed for whatever you decided to tackle. Let’s face it, our education system and tech firms are mismatched in many ways, including their pace of change. Therefore, it is important to try to find supplements to our school STEM experiences. One example might be participating in All Star Code, a coding and entrepreneurship program that started in Pittsburgh last summer and provides a robust coding and business curriculum. No. 2—Try your hand at business--either working for a small business or creating your own. In African American communities, new businesses provide jobs and services, promote social change, and create legacies of opportunities. These business entrepreneurs, when successful, can reach beyond themselves and provide support for individuals and organizations in need. In the year 2016, Entrepreneur magazine and a U.S. Census analysis reported that African American entrepreneurs in America are growing slightly. No. 3—Find a way to volunteer—Volunteering is a great way to share what
you know and learn new skills while creating new bonds and relationships. There are so many great organizations in Pittsburgh that you can find one that fulfills your personal interests. Personally, I have benefited from tutoring third graders and raising money for Haiti because these experiences have allowed me to make new friends and learn fundraising tips. My friends and I have volunteered in different ways, but we have generally benefited from being exposed to a larger group of people, an opportunity to apply our academic learning to real life situations and help find our passions and interests. In addition, most of us find that our volunteer experiences are good topics for job interviews and applications. Diversity and inclusion are going to make our city even more livable and enjoyable than it is today. We hold the key to change in our community and can set ourselves up for success if we use our high school years to set the groundwork. We can be the generation that defines success for all Pittsburghers regardless of color. Kendall Thomas High School Senior, Shady Side Academy
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OCTOBER 4-10, 2017
This flag is drenched in blood
(TriceEdneyWire.com)—I am not sure why the “National Anthem” and the so-called American flag are part of our nation’s sports pageantry. Before 2009, while the National Anthem was played, sports gladiators were not required to suit up, stand up, and put their hands to their hearts and why should they? The song that is sung is an insult to people of color. When I hear “the land of the free and the home of the brave”, I think, “the land of the thief and the home of the slave”. The National Football League, paid by the Department of Defense (seriously?) has paid for a fake cultural hegemony, for the notion that we are all on the same page. How could we be on the same page? How could the men who have been hauled out of their cars, pushed down to their knees, forced to justify the reasons they are driving high-end cars be on the same page with the men who “own” them, who may or may not support them, may or may not kneel with them, have fealty with their masters? Colin Kapernick took to the
Julianne Malveaux
Commentary knee, not because he disparaged the flag, but because he disparaged the many ways that African American people were being diminished by police brutality. Call the names, call the names, the men and the women who have been unjustifiably killed, call the names, and call the names of the many ways Back Lives Must Matter. Call the names, call the names, of the structural racism that cuts like a knife, or kills like a bullet. Call the names. There are those who have a story to tell about so-called disrespect to the “American flag”. But the flag is drenched in blood. Black men went to fight in World War I, and came back to this country and were lynched because they refused to cede the sidewalk to White people. What flag did they serve under, and why should we celebrate it. And why do disingenuous fools, including Mr. 45, chide NFL owners with strangely coded language, suggesting a lack of loyalty. Where is the loyalty to the Black men and women who supported a country that would not support them? The paradox of loyalty is that African American people love a country that does not love us. We pledge the flag, drenched in blood, because we want something better. Colin Kapernick took a stand, and many of his colleagues support him because they cannot embrace a flag that supports the unjustified killing of African American men. Colin Kapernick sacrificed his career to make a point, and he has been focused and fierce about his principles. Colin Kapernick, by kneeling, encouraged all of us to stand up for our rights. Colin Kapernick is a hero! This protest is more, though, than Colin Kapernick. This protest is about police brutality. This is a protest about the fake-Jake way some would bond us together, linking arms and elbows, trying to make a point. There is no point beyond the fact that young Black men who play football, baseball, and basketball see their brothers and cousins on their knees, legs and arms splayed, in the face of oppressive police forces. They freely kneel because others knelt when they were required to, because they were not free. We can fly this flag all we want to, we can sing melodious songs about “the star spangled banner”. But the flag we fly in the name of sports is a flag that is drenched in blood. Players weren’t required to stand at attention until 2009 because the Department of Defense paid money to make it happen. I’d rather my tax dollar be spent in different ways. I’d rather someone wash the blood out of the flag!
(Julianne Malveaux is an author and economist.)
FORUM
Racist extremism remains a crisis in the United States (TriceEdneyWire.com) — resumes with traditionally Now, therefore, be it resolved Marc H. Morial “White-sounding” names that Congress rejects White garner about 50 percent nationalism, White supremmore job interviews over acy, and neo-Nazism as “Black-sounding” names. hateful expressions of intolIn every measureable erance that are contradictoway, White men are vastly ry to the values that define overrepresented beyond the people of the United their percentage of the U.S. States urges the President population in positions of and his administration to power. But men like Jason speak out against hate groups that espouse racKessler look at this overrepresentation and see ism, extremism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and … White genocide. White supremacy; and use all resources availEarlier this week, FBI Director Christopher able to the President and the President’s Cabinet Wray told Congress the agency has about 1,000 to address the growing prevalence of those hate open investigations into potential domestic groups in the United States.—Congressional terrorists, including extremist White supremJoint Resolution signed acists and White nationalists. Within the past Last weekend’s escalation of NFL protests nine years, right-wing extremists in the United against police brutality seems to have sparked States plotted or carried out nearly twice as another wave of racist incidents across the many terrorist attacks as Islamist extremists. United States. A fire chief in suburban PittsPolice managed to foil twice as many of the burgh was fired after publicly using a racial slur Islamist cases as the right-wing incidents. Yet against Steelers coach Mike Tomlinson. A bar in the current administration has decided to cut Missouri created a doormat of jerseys spelling federal funding for groups fighting right-wing out “Lynch Kaepernick.” violence to shift more resources to fighting IslaThe words of the Charlottesville “Unite the mist terrorism. Right” organizer Jason Kessler, interviewed for Police told the New York Times, “Militias, the most recent episode of NPR’s “This Amerineo-Nazis and sovereign citizens” are the bigcan Life,” may go a long way toward explaining gest threat we face in regard to extremism, and why White supremacism and racial hostility are the threat is so high exactly because “it is an on the rise. emerging threat that we don’t have as good of a “We are being replaced culturally and ethnigrip on, even with our intelligence unit, as we do cally,” Kessler said, referring to White men. “It’s with the Al Shabab/Al Qaeda issue.” a genocide by replacement … Our first immiEarlier this month, President Trump signed gration policy, you know, said that in order to be a resolution, unanimously passed by the House a citizen you had to be a White person of good and Senate, condemning “the violence and character, right? So it was explicitly a White domestic terrorist attack that took place” in country. Like, there are traditional demographCharlottesville as well as White supremacists, ics. And when you don’t respect those, you neo-Nazis, and other hate groups. destroy a people.” The resolution urges the president and his adKessler, 33, does not consider himself a White ministration to “speak out against hate groups supremacist. “White supremacy, blah, blah, blah. that espouse racism, extremism, xenophobia, That’s a BS liberal term that you have been inanti-Semitism and White supremacy,” and calls doctrinated with. That White supremacy, White on the Justice Department and other federal supremacy!” This is our country!” agencies to “use all resources available” to adThe current Congress, the most diverse in his- dress the growing prevalence of those groups. tory, is 81 percent male and 81 percent White. It’s unclear how the resolution will affect White men hold about 70 percent of all seats funding for anti-racism efforts, but we expect on corporate boards. More than 70 percent of Congress to remain committed the principles it Fortune 500 senior executives are White men. espouses and to hold the administration acThe Black unemployment rate is consistently countable for using “all resources available” to about twice that of Whites, and studies show combat racial hate.
To Be Equal
Black cops, threat-perception failure, and thinking White Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book officers shot were Black, “Between the World and Me” J. Pharoah Doss compared to 46 percent of was written as a letter to his the people killed by White teenage son. The message officers. was clear: The White power A U.S. Justice Department structure destroys Black report confirms that African bodies like a force of nature American men are more and there is no escape. likely to be killed by Black Coates attempted to make than White cops. his point with a story about One study, done in 1998, a college classmate that found that the Black-offiwas shot and killed by a police officer. (Research cer-kills-Black suspect rate was 32 per 100,000 shows this officer was rogue.) But Coates’ tale Black officers and the White-officer-kills was inconsistent with his theme of perpetual Black-suspect rate was 14 per 100,000 White ofWhite destruction, because the police officer in ficers. An officer of the same race as the suspect question was Black and the incident occurred committed some 65 percent of the justifiable in a relatively affluent Black-majority area gov- homicides.” erned by Blacks. (The Washington City Paper Butler also explained, “There isn’t enough covered this incident in 2000. The headline said: data in these reports to know whether Black Black victim, Black cop, Black county.) cops have higher kill rates with Black suspects But the bigger problem was how Coates turned because African American cops are quicker this incident into an example of White destrucon the draw or, alternatively, because Black tion of the Black male body. Law professor Ran- officers are deployed in areas where they have dall Kennedy was perplexed by the way Coates fewer interaction with White suspects. It’s also presented this police shooting. In his review of important to note that because there are many Coates’ book, Kennedy wrote, “After pointing out more White officers than Black ones, White cops (that the officer was Black) Coates proceeds to still kill more African Americans overall than discuss the case as if it was a simple replication Black cops do.” of more familiar scenarios in which it is a White Butler continues, “Another investigation by the cop perpetrator who does the killing.” U.S. Department of Justice of the Philadelphia Coates dismissed the Black racial factors of Police Department raises serious concerns about this particular case when he wrote in his book, police officers of color. Among other things, the “The dream of acting White, of talking White, Justice Department investigated ‘threat-perof being White, murdered (his classmate) as ception failure,’ which means that the officer sure as it murders Black people in Chicago with mistakenly believed that an unarmed suspect frightening regularity.” had a weapon. The threat-perception failure Another critic of Coates’ book accused Coates for White officers and Black suspects was 6.8 of suggesting that the shooting occurred bepercent. For Black officers and Black suspects, cause the Black officer was thinking White. In the threat-perception failure rate was 11.4 perother words, the culprit wasn’t the rogue cop, it cent. For Hispanic officers and Black suspects, was the Black officer’s “White thoughts,” which the threat-perception failure was 16.7 percent. connects this police shooting to Coates’ theme of Hispanic officers were more likely to mistakenly the White destruction of Black bodies. think a Black suspect was armed, followed by Here Coates failed the task of the writer, African American officers. White officers were which is to state the problem correctly. actually the least likely to shoot an unarmed In Paul Butler’s new book “Choke Hold: PoBlack person.” licing Black Men” he has a section with an odd Are these higher “threat-perception failure” title: Why Black men should prefer White cops. rates by Hispanic and Black officers a real Butler, a Black former federal prosecutor, problem? Of course not. According to Coates’ wrote, “Studies have revealed that a Black cop reasoning these Hispanic and Black officers is more likely to shoot a Black person than a were under the spell of White supremacy. They White cop is. ProPublica, the public interest shouldn’t be blamed, tried, or convicted for news organization, looked at federal data on “thinking White.” (J. Pharoah Doss is a contributor to the New Pittsburgh fatal police shootings from 2010 to 2012. Seventy-eight percent of the people African American Courier. He blogs at jppharoahdoss@blogspot.com)
Check It Out
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.
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
Raynard Jackson
Commentary
Coming out as a White nationalist
(NNPA)—A few years ago, I wrote one of the most difficult, most personal columns I have ever written. I was totally terrified about going public with that particular column, because I didn’t know how strangers, my family, or my friends would respond to it. In 2013, I came out of the closet and out of the shadows. I publicly admitted that I was heterosexual. Wow. I tell you, once I came out of the closet, I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. The outpouring of support was massive, though I never received a call from President Obama or a tweet from Kobe Bryant; nonetheless, it felt good to be out of the closet. I find myself in that same predicament years later. During the past few months it has come to my attention that I, like most Trump supporters, am a White nationalist. This is not to be confused with a White supremacist. White supremacists believe that Whites are superior to other races or groups of people, simply because of their skin color, nothing more. That’s all I will say on that issue for now. But, White nationalists or nationalists of any color and background simply believe that our politicians and other leaders should put the interest of America and Americans first. End of story. Liberals and liberal media outlets often call Trump supporters White nationalists. But what about Blacks who believe in putting America and Americans first? Are we, by extension, White nationalists, too? Let me be clear: if you are in this country illegally, you gotta go. I don’t want America’s sovereignty to be subjugated to international organizations like the United Nations. I don’t want our economy to be dictated to by global organizations, the European Union or by onerous trade deals that would devastate our economy like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). America can’t continue to be the dumping ground for all refugees fleeing all manner of conflicts and other human tragedy throughout the world. We have military veterans coming back from wars and sleeping under bridges. We have American citizens who are homeless and have mental health issues. I can’t find it in me to be overly concerned with non-citizens and refugees, when my own family is hurting. At many universities, if you’re an American citizen and you don’t live in the state where you want to attend college, in most cases, you have to pay out-of-state tuition. Yet, if you are in the country illegally, you can pay in-state tuition in more than a dozen states. Can anyone explain to me how can there be even one instance of an illegal qualifying for a benefit an American citizen is not eligible for? My graduate thesis from George Mason University was on the North American Free Trade Agreement. I wrote that I was a huge proponent of NAFTA’s passage. Now, when I reflect back on that agreement, some twenty years later, I would be opposed to it, because I can now see how the agreement depressed the wages of American workers, among other things. My ideological default has always been free trade, but in my economic maturity I have come to understand that there is no such thing as free trade; only fair trade. Let me ask a question. What parent would sacrifice the well-being of his family to help another family in need, who they have no relationship with? Who would criticize this parent for feeding his children, even though he sees news footage of families starving in India? The answer is absolutely no one. One of the major omissions in our public discourse is that journalists never, ever make their guests define their terms. If journalists are going to label someone a White nationalist, they should at least define what that word means. If a White nationalist is someone who puts his own country and its citizens before another country and their citizens, then, by that definition, I am a White nationalist, too.
(Raynard Jackson is founder and chairman of Black Americans for a Better Future (BAFBF). For more information about BAFBF, visit www.bafbf.org. You can follow Raynard on Twitter @Raynard1223.)
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SOUTH FAYETTE TWP. SCHOOL DISTRICT
Substitute Teacher Positions Substitute Nurse Positions Substitute Paraeducator Positions Positions available for all grade levels and areas of content We encourage upcoming graduates and retirees (on emergency basis) to apply Complete job descriptions are available at: www.southfayette.org South Fayette Twp. School District 3680 Old Oakdale Road McDonald, PA 15057 EOE
DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGIST
University of Pittsburgh Physicians seeks a Diagnostic Radiologist in Allegheny County. Provide subspecialty abdominal imaging services approximately 50% of the time; remaining 50% of the time shall be spent performing general radiology duties, including fluoroscopy, minor percutaneious interventions, basic neuro MRI, and basic nuclear medicine; shall monitor and diagnose illnesses and injuries utilizing the results from computed tomography (CT) scans, ultrasounds, magnetic resonance imaging technology (MRI), radiography, nuclear medicine, radiography, and fluoroscopy. Must have Medical degree or foreign equivalent; must have completed a residency in Radiology; must be Board eligible or Board certified by the American oard of Radiology; and must have a valid unrestricted PA medical license. Apply by following these steps; visit http://careers.upmc.com and enter 170001C0 in the “Search Keyword/ ob I field and click Go. EOE.
SENIOR PRODUCT MANAGER, NLP (NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING) CORE DEPARTMENT
UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside seeks a Senior Product Manager, NLP (Natural Language Processing) Core Department in Allegheny County, PA. Design novel methods of extracting information from written text for large scale natural language processing systems capable of processing tens or hundreds of millions of free text clinical notes, to extract key information about diseases, medications, symptoms and procedures. Collect, synthesize and translate user information, understanding the needs of the user and use of the information gathered. Translate requirements into NLP-driven software applications to support retrospective population research as well as real time decision support. esign flexible infrastructure to support multiple NLP projects including datastores, services and protocols. Manage an interdisciplinary team of software engineers, computational linguists and data scientists to achieve product development goals. Must have a Master’s degree in Computer Science or Information Science; and must have five years of experience in job offered, i.e., designing novel methods of extracting information from written text on a large scale (tens or hundreds of millions of clinical notes). Apply by following these steps; visit http://careers. upmc.com and enter #622706 in the Search eyword/ ob I field and click Go. EOE.
ANNOUNCEMENTS Public Notice
NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY FOR PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT AND PUBLIC HEARING HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH 2017 ADMISSIONS AND CONTINUED OCCUPANCY POLICY
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) is revising the Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy. The proposed revisions will be available for review from October 9, 2017 to November 7, 2017, at the HACP Operations Department 200 Ross St. 6th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219; the HACP website: www. hacp.org; and at HACP Management Offices. Written comments on the proposed revisions must be addressed to “Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy” at the address above and must be received by close of business (5:00 p.m.) on November 7, 2017. A public hearing to receive comments on the plan will be held on Monday, October 23, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. and at 5:00 p.m. at 200 Ross St., 9th floor oard Room. Persons with disabilities requiring assistance or alternative formats, or wishing to submit comments in alternative formats, can contact the isability Compliance Office at 412-456-5282, ext. 1; TTY 412201-5384.
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If you worked at Drava Engineering n/k/a Davy McKee Corp., Pittsburgh, PA, between 1970-1987, please contact Asbestos Investigator Sherry Day at (734) 878-5236 or email Sherry@SLDinvestigations.com.
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH PUBLIC NOTICE OF REVISED FLAT RENT SCHEDULE
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP), in accordance with federal law and regulation, is proposing revisions to its Low Income Public Housing Flat Rent Schedule. The revised HACP Flat Rent Schedule is available for review and comment from October 6 to November 6, 2017 at the following locations: •HACP Operations Department, 200 Ross St., 6th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15219; •HACP webite: www.hacp.org; HACP Management Offices A Public Hearing to receive public comments on the revised HACP Flat Rent Schedule will be held on Monday, October 23, 2017, at 12:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., at 200 Ross St., 9th Floor Board Room. Written comments on the proposed revisions to the HACP Flat Rent Schedule must be addressed to “Attention: HACP Flat Rent Schedule” at HACP Department of Operations, Asset Management, 200 Ross St., 6th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, and must be received by 12:00 p.m. on Monday, November 6, 2017. Once approved, the final revised HACP Flat Rent Schedule will be effective February 1, 2018. Persons with disabilities requiring assistance or alternative formats, or wishing to make comments in alternative formats, can contact the HACP ADA/504 Coordinator at 412-456-5020, Ext. 2504; TTY 412201-5384. LEGAL ADVERTISING Legal Notices
Estate of BEVERLY M. GORMAN, Deceased of City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania No. 05465 of 2017. William M. Gorman, Administrator, 1208 Berkshire Avenue, Pittburgh, PA 15226 or to AUBREY H. GLOVER, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC, 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017 Estate of WILLIAM A. PHILLIPS, Deceased of Pittsburgh. No. 021705241 of 2017. Michele Boris. Adm. or to c/o Philip J. Scolieri, Esquire, Scolieri Law Group, P.C., Attys. 1207 Fifth Avenue, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Estate of LEONARD CERSOSIMO, Deceased of 44 Harlem Avenue, McKees Rocks, PA 15136. Estate No. 02-17-5562. Ms. Tammy Ulizzi, 41 Ehle Avenue, Coraopolis, PA 15108, Administratrix c/o Max C. Feldman, Attorney At Law, 1322 Fifth Avenue, Coraopolis, PA 15108.
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ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION
Jay A. Gilmer, Esq., 5700 Bunkerhill Street, #2207, Pittsburgh, PA 15206. Notice is hereby given that Articles of Incorporation were filed with the epartment of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on November 28, 2016, with respect to a nonprofit corporation which has been incorporated under the provisions of the Business Corporation Law of 1988. The name of the corporation is AFI Elite.
FICTITIOUS NAME
Notice is hereby given pursuant to the provisions of the Fictitious Names Act of Pennsylvania that an application for Registration of fictitious name was/will be filed with the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for the conduct of a business under the fictitious name of My -year Plan with its principal office or place of business at 3941 N. Monet Court, Allison Park, PA 15101. The names and addresses, including street and number, if any, of all persons who are parties to the registration are: Cathy J. Lueers, 3941 N. Monet Ct., Allison Park, PA 15101
FICTITIOUS NAME
Andrew M. Gross, Equire, Attorney. Gross & Patterson, LLC, 428 Forbes Avenue, Ste. 103, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. 412-553-0140. Notice is hereby given pursuant to the provisions of the Fictitious Names Act of Pennsylvania that an application for Registration of fictitious name was filed with the epartment of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, for the conduct of a business under the fictitious name of Sierra Personal Care Home with its principal office or place of business at 2 W. Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15204. The names and addresses, including street and numbers, if any, of all persons who are parties to the registration are: Sierra Transportation LLC-3327 W. Carson Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15204.
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CITY OF PITTSBURGH DEPARTMENT OF MOBILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PA REQUEST FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES STATEMENTS OF INTEREST (SOI)
The Office of the irector of the DEPARTMENT OF MOBILITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH will receive Statements of Interest from experienced firms for preliminary engineering services until 4:00 p.m., on November 3, 2017, for the following: PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR THE THE REHABILITATION OR REPLACEMENT OF THE CHARLES ANDERSON MEMORIAL BRIDGE CITY OF PITTSBURGH, ALLEGHENY COUNTY DMI PROJECT NO. 17202 MPMS NO. 91907 The bridge serves as an entrance to Schenley Park in the City of Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood and carries the Boulevard of the Allies over the CSX Railroad and bikeway trail into Panther Hollow. The structure is a steel three span continuous Wichert truss, eligible for listing as an historical bridge. The structure may also be a contributing element to the Schenley Park Historic District and the Railroad Corridor. epending on the findings of the Historic Bridge Feasibility Analysis, the scope of work will proceed for a rehabilitation or a replacement project. A full description of services and general requirements for submissions can be found on PennDOT’s ECMS web site: http://www.dot14. state.pa.us/ECMS/ GO TO SOLICITATIONS – CONSULTANTS – ADVERTISEMENTS – CHARLES ANDERSON MEMORIAL BRIDGE OR L00083 All candidates must be a current registered Business Partner with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and must read and acknowledge “General Consultant Candidate Requirements and Information for City of Pittsburgh Sponsored Federally Funded Transportation Projects” before submitting a Statement of Interest. See web site: http://apps.pittsburghpa.gov/ finance/General-ConsultantRequirements-for-CICA.pdf Consultant teams must comply with Section 177A.02 Equal Employment Opportunity Practice and Goals of the City of Pittsburgh, Code of Ordinances. The City will be using the modified consultant selection process for securing the professional services. The anticipated Notice to Proceed is May 1, 2018. An optional Pre-proposal Meeting will be held on Monday, October 16, 2017, at 1:30 p.m. at the City-County Building, Room 301, 414 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15219, in the Large Conference Room,. The City will make a brief presentation of the project. All questions and answers are required to go through ECMS’s “Questions and Responses” Forum.
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COMBINED NOTICE OF FINDING OF NO SIGNFICANT IMPACT AND NOTICE OF INTENT TO REQUEST RELEASE OF FUNDS
October 4, 2017 City of Pittsburgh-Dept. of City Planning 200 Ross Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-255-2211 These notices shall satisfy two separate but related procedural requirements for activities to be undertaken by the City of Pittsburgh. REQUEST FOR RELEASE OF FUNDS On or about October 20, 2017 the City of Pittsburgh (“City”) will submit a request to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) for the release of Community Development Block Grant funds under Title 1 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, to undertake projects known as ADA Compliance $33,000, Sport Facility Improvements $827,950, Recreation & Senior Center Rehabilitations $50,000, Street Resurfacing $719,970, Park Reconstruction $435,743, Play Area Improvements $548,680, Slope Failure Remediation $400,000, Water Feature Upgrades $90,000, Urban Redevelopment Authority Choice Neighborhood Redevelopment Projects $1,454,400, Urban Redevelopment Authority Economic Development & Housing $1,000,000, Urban Redevelopment Authority Major Development $150,000, Urban Redevelopment Authority Personnel $2,000,000 for the purpose of improving infrastructure, public facilities and services for low-moderate income City of Pittsburgh residents. FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT The City of Pittsburgh has determined that the project will have no significant impact on the human environment. Therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) is not required. Additional project information is contained in the Environmental Review Record ERR on file at City of Pittsburgh 200 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 and may be examined or copied weekdays from 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. PUBLIC COMMENTS Any individual, group, or agency may submit written comments on the ERR to: Michael Petrucci City of Pittsburgh, 200 Ross Street, 2nd Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-255-2211 All comments received by October 19th, 2017, will be considered by the City of Pittsburgh prior to authorizing submission of a request for release of funds. Comments should specify which Notice they are addressing. ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION The City of Pittsburgh certifies to H that William Peduto in his capacity as Mayor, City of Pittsburgh, consents to accept the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts if an action is brought to enforce responsibilities in relation to the environmental review process and that these responsibilities have been satisfied. H ’s approval of the certification satisfies its responsibilities under NEPA and related laws and authorities and allows the City of Pittsburgh to use program funds. OBJECTIONS TO RELEASE OF FUNDS HUD will accept objections to its release of fund and the City of Pittsburgh’s certification for a period of fifteen days following the anticipated submission date or its actual receipt of the request (whichever is later) only if they are on one of the following bases: a the certification was not executed by the Certifying Officer of the City of Pittsburgh b the City of Pittsburgh has omitted a step or failed to make a decision or finding re uired by H regulations at 24 CFR part 58; (c) the grant recipient or other participants in the development process have committed funds, incurred costs or undertaken activities not authorized by 24 CFR Part 58 before approval of a release of funds by HUD; or (d) another Federal agency acting pursuant to 40 CFR Part 1 0 has submitted a written finding that the pro ect is unsatisfactory from the standpoint of environmental quality. Objections must be prepared and submitted in accordance with the required procedures (24 CFR Part 58, Sec. 58.76) and shall be addressed to: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Planning and Development Division The Moorhead Federal Building 1000 iberty Ave.-10th floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Potential objectors should contact HUD to verify the actual last day of the objection period. WILLIAM PEDUTO Mayor City of Pittsburgh LEGAL ADVERTISING Bids/Proposals
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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. 1010 – Liebert Uninterruptible Power Supply Bid Proposal No. 1011 – Fortinet Maintenance Renewal Proposals will be received at the Purchasing Department until 2:00 P.M. Prevailing Time on Thursday, October 12, 2017. The CCAC Purchasing Department is now publishing all bids via the CCAC website at https://www. ccac.edu/Bid-RFP_Opportuni ties.aspx It will be each vendor’s 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. 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.
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LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL ACHA-1583 Dwelling Unit Painting Services
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB) FOR EMERGENCY TREE AND SHRUB REMOVAL SERVICES AUTHORITY WIDE IFB# 300-37-17
The Allegheny County Housing Authority is requesting proposals from ualified individuals/firms to provide painting services as per specifications. 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 St., 12 Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15222 or by e-mailing Guy Phillips @ gphillips@achsng.com. A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held on Thursday, October 12, 2017 at 10:00 a.m., in the Allegheny County Housing Authority Board Room on the 12th Floor. Proposals are due by 2:00 p.m. local time, Monday, October 30, 2017, at the Allegheny County Housing Authority. The Allegheny County Housing Authority encourages responses from small, minority, and women owned firms, as well as firms that have not previously performed work for ACHA. The Allegheny County Housing Authority Reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, or waive any informality in the proposals. No proposals shall be withdrawn for a period of at least sixty (60) days subsequent to the opening of proposals without the consent of ACHA. ALLEGHENY COUNTY HOUSING AUTHORITY Frank Aggazio, Executive Director
ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY LEGAL NOTICE
The Allegheny County Sanitary Authority is soliciting Bids for CONTRACT NO. 1685, FURNISH AND DELIVER CAUSTIC SODA (DIAPHRAGM GRADE). Bids will be received until 11:00 A.M., Prevailing Time, Wednesday, October 18, 201 at the office of the Authority, 3300 Preble Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15233. 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 women’s businesses to the fullest extent possible. The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all Bids; to waive any informality in any Bid and to accept any Bid should it be deemed in the interest of the Authority to do so. Bid Security shall be furnished by providing with the Bid a Cerifi Ch i n in h amount of $5,000.00. The Successful Bidder shall be required to furnish Performance Bond in the amount of $50,000.00 Documents pertaining to the submission of Bids are available at the Engineering 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 or Benjamin.Heilman@ alcosan.org. ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY Benjamin J. Heilman Contract Supervisor
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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. 1008 – Upgrade Surveillance Systems at South and North Campuses and West Hills Center A MANDATORY pre-bid meeting and site visitation will be held onsite beginning at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. The assembly point will be the campus security desk at the main entrance to South Campus, around right side of complex, 1750 Clairton Rd., West Mifflin, PA 15122. Visits at North Campus and West Hills will follow on the next day. Note that the Project Labor Agreement applies to this project. Proposals will be received at the Purchasing Department until 2:00 P.M. Prevailing Time on Tuesday, October 24, 2017. The CCAC Purchasing Department is now publishing all bids via the CCAC website at https://www. ccac.edu/Bid-RFP_Opportuni ties.aspx It will be each vendor’s 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. 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.
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The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from ualified irms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): EMERGENCY TREE AND SHRUB REMOVAL SERVICES AUTHORITY WIDE IFB# 300-37-17 The documents will be available no later than October 2, 2017 and signed, sealed bids will be accepted until 11:00 a.m. on October 20, 2017 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, October 12, 2017 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. HACP’s 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.
HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR
Janitorial Services at the Bedford Hope Center, the Development and Opportunities Center (DOC) and the Creative Arts Corner (Northview Heights) Resident Owned Businesses Only RFP #250-44-17 The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby requests proposals from ualified irms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Janitorial Services at the Bedford Hope Center, the Development and Opportunities Center (DOC) and the Creative Arts Corner (Northview Heights) Resident Owned Businesses Only RFP #250-44-17 The documents will be available no later than September 25, 2017 and signed, sealed proposals will be accepted until 10:00 A.M., October 13, 2017 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 i C n a in ffi 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, Conference Room Pittsburgh, PA 15219 October 5, 2017 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. HACP’s 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.
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PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY
Electronic Proposals will be received online at the Port Authority of Allegheny County’s Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness.portauthority.org). Proposals/bid submittals will be due 11:00 AM on October 30, 2017 and will be read at 11:15 AM., the same day, at Port Authority’s Heinz location (345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 152222527), for the following: Electronic Proposal Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness.portauthority.org) B170960 Switches - Junction B170962 Tow Tractor B170851 Ross Garage Wind Turbine B170963 LRV Suspension B170965A Equipment Cleaner B170967 Paint Booth - Collier B170968 Overhead Maintenance Vehicle B170964A Wheel Tire Kits - LRV B170969 Tamper B170961 Steel Hauler B170959A High Speed Gearbox Couplers - LRV Paper Proposal – Documents are available for the following item a P A h i ain ffi 345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 15222-2527 B170966A Unleaded Gasoline 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 October 11, 2017 at Port Authority’s Heinz location (345 Sixth Avenue, Third 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 othi ifi C f livery, bond, and insurance shall be included in bidder’s 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.
America’s Best Weekly 315 East Carson Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Classifieds 412-481-8302 Ext. 140 E-mail: ads@newpittsburghcourier.com Deadline/Closing/ Cancellation Schedule for copy, corrections, and cancellations: Friday noon preceding Wednesday publication
Pick up your Courier at these locations… GIANT EAGLE LEGAL ADVERTISING Bids/Proposals (16 Pittsburgh Locations) 6320 Shakespeare St., East Liberty (EAST, near BUSWAY) 4004 Monroeville Blvd., Monroeville (MONROEVILLE MALL) 230 Rodi Rd., Penn Hills (EAST inside Penn Hills Shopping Center) 9001 Frankstown Road. (EAST, corner of Frankstown and Verona Rd.) 550 Centre Ave., Shadyside (EAST, Market District) 3812 O’Neill Blvd., McKeesport (SOUTHEAST) 1356 Hoffman Blvd., West Mifflin (NEAR KENNYWOOD) 1901 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill (EAST) 1005 Freeport Road, Waterworks Mall (NEAR FOX CHAPEL) 4250 Murray Ave., Greenfield (EAST) 254 Yost Blvd., Forest Hills/ Braddock Hills (SOUTH EAST) 1705 S. Braddock Ave., Edgewood Towne Center (EAST) 420 East Waterfront Dr., Homestead (SOUTHEAST) 2021 Wharton Ave. (SOUTH SIDE FLATS) 318 Cedar Ave., North Side (NORTH near E. OHIO ST.) Crafton/Ingram Shopping Center, 51 Walsh Road (WEST END) NORTH SIDE LOCATIONS NORTH SIDE BEER AND BEVERAGE 1304 Federal St. 7-11 1001 Western Ave. RICHEY’S BARBER SHOP 1207 N. Franklin St. NORTH SIDE VALERO 820 Pennsylvania Ave. RITE AID 802 Pennsylvania Ave. MARSHALL SHELL 1500 Spring Garden Ave. SWINKO’S MARKET 2535 Perrysville Ave. MERCY STREET EXPRESS 6 Mercy St. HARV’S EXXON 2501 Brighton Rd. QUICK SCHWARTZ 3235 Brighton Rd. HANINI MARKET 3245 Brighton Rd.
POPULAR EAST END LOCATIONS GETGO 4924 Baum Blvd. BP GAS STATION 11835 Frankstown Rd., Penn Hills PUFF’S DISCOUNT TOBACCO 10991 Frankstown Rd., Penn Hills SHOP N’ SAVE 3335 William Penn Hwy, near Monroeville Mall GETGO 10525 Frankstown Rd., Penn Hills CVS PHARMACY 10600 Frankstown Rd., Penn Hills SHELL GAS STATION 7619 Baum Blvd., Shadyside STANTON NEGLEY DRUG 804 N. Negley Ave., Highland Park UNIMART 5724 Ellsworth Ave., Shadyside SHELL GAS STATION 6701 Frankstown Rd., East Hills SQUIRREL HILL NEWS 5804 Forbes Ave., Squirrel Hill MURRAY AVE. NEWS 2024 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill PUFF’S DISCOUNT TOBACCO 234 Yost Blvd., Braddock Hills DORSEY’S RECORDS 7614 Frankstown Ave., Homewood HOMEWOOD MARKET 7201 Frankstown Ave., Homewood SHEETZ 3457 William Penn Hwy., Monroeville WILLIAM PENN SMOKE SHOP 132 North Highland Ave., East Liberty DOWNTOWN LOCATIONS PENN AVENUE 7-11 (Sixth and Penn) Koppers Building (Ninth and Penn) NEWS-NUMBERS 136 Penn Avenue SMITHFIELD NEWS 115 Smithfield St. 7-11 SMITHFIELD 420 Smithfield St. FABER COE & GREGG 500 Grant St. FABER COE & GREGG 600 Grant St. NIELSEN’S STORES One Oxford Centre, Grant St.
SOUTH SIDE LOCATIONS KEN’S MARKET 216 Beltzhoover Ave. Daily Mart 1125 Arlington Ave. SHOP N’ SAVE Brownsville Rd., Carrick
WOOD STREET 7-11 429 Wood St. NEWSTAND Sixth and Wood ONE STOP 300 Sixth & Wood
WEST END LOCATIONS CRAFTON BEVERAGE 15 Foster Ave., Crafton/Ingram Shopping Center SHEETZ 5400 Campbells Run Rd. SHOP N SAVE 2103 Noblestown Rd.
OTHER DOWNTOWN LOCATIONS INCLUDE... KWIK-E-MART 212 Tenth St. 7-11 643 Liberty Ave. ESTER’S SNAX Federal Building, Second Floor FABER COE & GREGG Fifth Ave. Place, First Floor EXTRA EXTRA NEWS 413 Seventh Ave. UTSAV NEWS 400 Cherry Way C&C NEWS 2 PPG Place EDDIE’S SNACKS 262 Fifth Ave. BIG DADDY 465 Forbes Ave.
HILL DISTRICT LOCATIONS SHOP N’ SAVE 1850 Centre Ave. WONG’S MARKET 2170 Centre Ave. ANN’S MARKET 2316 Webster Ave. A-PLUS MINI MARKET 2350 Centre Ave. UJAMMA BOUTIQUE 1901 Centre Ave. K LEROY IRVIS TOWERS 715 Mercer St. ABE’S MARKET 1860 Centre Ave. WYLIE TOBACCO 2152 Wylie Ave.
METRO
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
OCTOBER 4-10, 2017
B7
55 of 81 homicides Black lives...Six in Allegheny County in September HOMICIDES FROM A1
say he should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information should call 412-473-3000. SEPT.14–Omar Berry, a 43-year-old Black male, was fatally shot by Louis Dickerson, 42, after an evening of drinking and card-playing in Dickerson’s Mission Street apartment on Pittsburgh’s South Side Slopes. Dickerson initially blamed unknown intruders, then a fictitious shooter named “G” before confessing to Pittsburgh police. He is being held in the Allegheny County Jail. SEPT. 17—Devon Allen Trowell, a 21-year-old Black male from Wilkinsburg, was found by city firefighters lying in Hamilton Avenue in Homewood with multiple gunshot wounds. Medics rushed him to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, but he was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later. Police have not yet identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. SEPT. 18—Michael Freeman, a 30-year-old Black male, was shot multiple times as he sat in his car outside a Brighton Heights sub shop. The shop owner said Freeman had just ordered a sandwich, and his girlfriend was still inside completing the order, when someone ran up to the car and fired five shots. He was rushed to the hospital but did not survive. Pittsburgh police have not yet identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing.
August Homicides (10) AUG 3—Maurice Youngblood, a 38-year-old Black male, was found shot multiple times in the 7300 Block of Kelly Street in Homewood. He died about an hour later at UPMC Presbyterian. Police have not identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. AUG. 4—Craig Summers, a 47-year-old Black male, was found fatally shot on the porch of an abandoned building in the 2500 block of Maple Avenue on Pittsburgh’s North Side. AUG. 5—Timothy Maxon, a 50-year-old White male, was fatally shot by his 23-year-old co-worker Deon Wells, after the two began arguing with each other. Wells, who claims self-defense, has been charged with homicide. AUG. 6—Kevin Trowery, a 54-year-old Black male, was fatally shot by three men who attacked him on his porch, then robbed his house in the 200 Block of Conestoga Road in Penn Hills. The shooting was captured on the victim’s home surveillance system. Police took 31-year-old Donald King into custody as he tried to flee the scene. He is charged with Trowery’s death. Dustin Taylor, 25, was apprehended four days later and also charged. AUG. 6—Nicole Dailey, a 26-year-old Black female, was fatally shot near her car on Pittsburgh’s North Side while holding her 7-month-old daughter. City police said she tried to run but only made it a few feet before collapsing in a grassy area at the intersection of N. Charles and Strauss Streets. A good Samaritan picked up her, Nia, who was unharmed. AUG. 8—Calvin Turner, a 20-year-old Black male, was fatally shot in the entranceway to a house in the 500 Block of Oak Hill Drive in the Upper Hill District. Pittsburgh police took into custody after he fled from the scene, but as yet, no charges have been filed. AUG. 13—Ryan Carosi, a 33-year-old White male was fatally stabbed by 25-year-old Ashley Henchell after the two got into an argument in a bar on Bailey Avenue in Mt. Washington. She remains in the Allegheny County Jail. AUG. 13—Melissa Manhart, a 42-year-old White female was found shot in the head on the rear porch of her home at the intersection of Brainard Street and Larimer Avenue in Larimer. She had moved into just the house two days earlier. Police have not identified a suspect. The investigation continues. AUG. 17—Jeremy Edwards, a 19-year-old Black Male was found by Pittsburgh police fatally shot in the face on Shemp Way in the Middle Hill. Police have not yet identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. AUG 29—Brian Pinkney, a 29-year-old Black male was found shot in the face outside a residence in the Allegheny Dwellings housing development. Police ar-
rested 26-year-old Davon Jones after identifying him on surveillance video of the shooting. He is being held without bail in the Allegheny County Jail. July Homicides (11) JULY 1—Romeke Freeman, a 22-year-old Black male, was found by Pittsburgh police with a fatal gunshot wound to the head outside a home in the 400 Block of S. Aiken Avenue in Garfield. He was taken to UPMC Presbyterian where he died about three hours later. Police have not identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. JULY 2—Jeremiah Jones, a 19-year-old Black male, was found fatally shot around 3 a.m. in a remote wooded area off Lougeay Road in Wilkins Township. Allegheny County police Chief Andrew Sherman said it appeared he had driven there to meet someone. No suspect has been identified as of yet. The investigation continues. JULY 4—Erric Jackson, a 28-year-old Black male, died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head he received in 2010. In 2015, Melvin “We-eye” Smalls, who was in jail at the time, was charged with the shooting that had left Jackson in a permanent vegetative state. JULY 9—Mia White, a 30-yearold Black female, was killed when the car she sat in on Liverpool Street in Pittsburgh’s Manchester neighborhood was riddled with at least 10 shots. A 27-year-old female she was sitting with was wounded in the leg. Police have not yet identified a suspect. The investigation continues. JULY 16—Robert Harper Jr., a 28-year-old Black male, died from multiple gunshot wounds in the hallway of an apartment building in the 1700 block of Belleau Street in Fineview’s Allegheny Dwellings public housing complex. Police have not identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. JULY 16—Monte Whitley, a 30-year-old Black male, was found lying between two houses on Lombard Street in the Hill District. He had been shot multiple times. Police have not identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. JULY 16—Samantha Klavora, a 23-year-old White female, was killed while sitting on the steps in the 1000 block of Fifth Avenue in McKeesport, when Daniel “Boog” Bizelle, 25, accused the 38-yearold male she was sitting with of killing a friend a month earlier. Witnesses said he fired at the man as he ran up the steps, wounding him, then turned to Klavora, who was screaming, and said, “Shut up,” before shooting her six times. As of this writing, Bizzelle is still at large. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to call 412-473-1300. JULY 18—Jaymerie Washington, an 18-year-old Black male, and Terrell Wright, a 41-year-old Black male, were both fatally shot in broad daylight outside an apartment building in the 6200 block of Auburn Street in Larimer. Pittsburgh police are investigating to see if the shootings were related to drug arrests made in the are the night before. No suspects have yet been identified. JULY 23—John Roberts, a 21-year-old White male, was fatally shot in the chest as he and his friend Jakeub Nace, also 21, played with a gun in the basement of another friend’s home on Lougean Avenue in Lincoln Place. Though police said the shooting was accidental, after consulting with the district attorney’s office Nace was charged with homicide. JULY 27—Robert Minor, a 41-year-old Black male, died due to complications from a gunshot wound to the back he received in 1995. At the time, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Minor, then 19, and then 23-year-old Grady Thomas, were both shot in Westgate Village in the city’s Fairywood neighborhood. Thomas was wounded in the leg. Police had no motive or suspects at the time. The current status of the investigation is unclear. JULY 29—Stephon Jeffrey, a 22–year-old Black male, was found Fatally shot between two buildings in the Uansa Village housing complex in McKees Rocks. Witnesses told Allegheny County police they saw a Black male running from the scene toward Sproul Street immediately after the shooting. The investigation is ongoing. June Homicides (6 ) JUNE 2—Dedric Ellis, a 48-year-old Black male, was found in his wrecked SUV, which had flipped over on McClure Avenue. He had been shot multiple times. Five days later, Pittsburgh Police arrested Melvin Russaw of Perry South for the crime. He
remains in the Allegheny County Jail awaiting trial on homicide charges. JUNE 2—Makebia Morgan, a 34-year-old Black female, was found stabbed to death in the basement of a home on Francis Court in the Hill District. Quincy Fuqua, 31, was arrested at the scene. He remains in the Allegheny County jail pending trial. JUNE 4–Shayne Abrams, a 23-year-old Black male, was found shot in his vehicle after it had crashed into a house in the 1500 block of Manhattan Street in Manchester. Police have not yet named a suspect. The investigation continues. JUNE 19–Diaz Petty, a 24-yearold Black male, was found fatally shot on the sidewalk in the 900 block of Lysle Boulevard in McKeesport. County homicide detective have not yet identified a suspect. The investigation continues. JUNE 23–Donald Taymer, a 17-year-old Black male, was fatally shot at the intersection of Paulson Avenue and Dean Street in Lincoln-Lemington. After a standoff a few hours later at a nearby house—which police said was “related to” the shooting—four individuals were taken into custody along with a cache of drugs. However, charges have yet to be filed in Taymer’s death. JUNE 24–Kelly Gunn, a 24-year-old Black male from Penn Hills, was found fatally shot at the intersection of Maple and Hunter streets in Wilkinsburg. Police said witnesses described the shots coming from a silver sedan, possibly a Chevrolet Impala, which fled the scene. The investigation is ongoing. May Homicides (10) MAY 1—Bhim Rai, a 26-yearold Asian, was found stabbed to death in his Carrick apartment. His live-in girlfriend, 23-year-old Urmila Gurung, was arrested and charged with the homicide later that day. She awaits trial in the Allegheny County Jail. MAY 3—Juwan Jordan, an 18-year-old Black male, was found by police at the intersection of Allendale and Adon Streets in Sheraden with a fatal bullet wound to the head. Another shooting earlier that night left bullet holes in cars, and a dozen shell casings littering the street. Pittsburgh police did not say if they believe there is a connection. The investigation is ongoing. MAY 6—Anthony Nicassio, a 69-year-old White male, was stabbed to death by his 27-yearold Daughter in his Plum home. According to police, Nicassio and his wife had been trying to convince their distraught daughter to go to Forbes Regional Hospital, when she grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed him. She was arrested at the scene. MAY 15—Angela Ceccarelli, and 80-year-old White female, was found in her McCandless Township home fatally shot in the head along with her 83-year-old husband Julius, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. The deaths have been ruled a murder-suicide. MAY 18—Robert Ford III, a 34-year-old Black male, was discovered by police in a bedroom of an East Hills home with a fatal gunshot wound to the chest. The investigation is ongoing. MAY 18—Vallen Davies-Mack, a 17-year-old Black male, was found fatally shot in a public park playground in Swissvale some five hours after neighbors reported hearing multiple gunshots around 2 a.m. Allegheny County Police have not yet identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. MAY 21—Dahrique Smith, a 25-year-old Black male, was found on a South Side sidewalk after a passer-by told police of shots inside the Rowdy Buck saloon on East Carson Street. He was transported to UPMC Mercy where he dies about 40 minutes later. Pittsburgh police have released video from inside the bar of people they would like identified. It can be viewed here: http://apps.pittsburghpa.gov/dps/ Rowdy_Buck.mp4. Anyone with information can call anonymously at 412-323-7800. MAY 22—Richard Williams, a 35-year-old White male, was fatally shot in his car on Kelly Street in Homewood during an apparent drug deal. Police have charged 26-year-old Lavasha Johnson with homicide and tampering with evidence, and are searching for a male suspect, seen on surveillance footage, bailing out of the car immediately after the shooting apparently holding a gun. MAY 23—Kala Thomas, a 25-year-old Black female and single mother of two sets of twins, was found dumped over a hillside in Garfield after being shot in the
head. Police have not yet identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. MAY 28—Antonio Wallace, a 31-year-old Black male, was found by police in the 1800 block of Wesley Street in McKeesport having suffered multiple fatal gun shots to the torso. Police have not ¥et identified a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. April Homicides (4) APRIL 6—Elijah Paris, a 21-year-old Black male was shot multiple times in the 200 block of Shady Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Shadyside neighborhood. Police have not said why Paris, originally from Washington state and living in Beechview, was in Shadyside. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. APRIL 20—Raffel Green, a 49-year-old Black male, was found by police with a fatal gunshot wound to the neck, in a car outside building number 39 in the Crawford Village public housing community in McKeesport. Police say neither Green, nor his companion, Jessica Taylor, who was also killed, lived in the complex. No arrest has been made. The investigation is ongoing. APRIL 20—Jessica Taylor, a 32-year-old White female, was found by police with a fatal gunshot wound to the head in a car outside building number 39 in the Crawford Village public housing community in McKeesport. Police say neither Taylor, nor her companion, Raffel Green, who was also killed, lived in the complex. No arrest has been made. The investigation is ongoing. APRIL 25—William Chaffin, a 14-year-old Black male, was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest inside a home on Ridge Avenue in McKeesport after police said a 19-year-old he showed it to tried to get him to put it down, then tried to take it from him. Chaffin had reportedly brought the gun to the house. Allegheny County Police said they have identified everyone involved and given all the information to the District Attorney’s office. No charges have been filed. March Homicides (7) MARCH 6—Bhim Rai, a 26-year-old Asian male, was found by police dead in his apartment on Brownsville Avenue in Carrick after they received a call of a stabbing during a bar fight. Police have not named a suspect. The investigation continues. MARCH 7—Anthony Bailey, a 27-year-old Black male from Penn Hills was found dead in a Pitcairn apartment from gunshot wounds received in what county police said was an apparent robbery. Witnesses said they saw two Black males—one with a distinct limp—fleeing the area. No arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing. MARCH 7—Sarah Villarreal, a 34-year-old White female, was fatally shot by Daniel Connelly, a 43-year-old White Male who then shot himself, in an apartment they shared in the 100 block of Watson Drive in Turtle Creek. Police have called it a murder-suicide. Villarreal’s 4-year-old daughter was in the home at the time but was unharmed. MARCH 12—Christopher Dancy, a 46-year-old Black male from Ambridge, was killed after 47-year-old Joseph Goldsmith, also Black, came to his former girlfriend’s home and shot both her and Dancy twice before shooting himself in the head. The 37-year-old female, who police did not identify, survived her injuries. Her 9-year-old son, who hid in the basement, was unharmed. MARCH 18—Michael Leonard, a 33-year-old Black male, was fatally shot while sitting in his car with his girlfriend in the 1000 block of Blackadore Street after an earlier argument with a man inside the New Brotherhood Motorcycle Club in Homewood. He had apparently been followed from the club, but police have not named a suspect. The investigation is ongoing. MARCH 19—Sean Lyons, a 20-year-old Black male, was fatally shot in the neck and chest following an argument, again, inside the New Brotherhood Motorcycle Club at the intersection of Kelly Street and Brushton Avenue in Homewood. Despite a bar full of patrons, police have no suspects. The investigation is ongoing. MARCH 28—Deven Holloway, a 16-year-old Black male, was fatally shot multiple times outside Linton Middle School in Penn Hills. A 22-year-old male from Plum, who claimed he shot Holloway in self-defense, was questioned and released by police. His name will only be released if he is charged. The investigation is ongoing. February Homicides (9)
FEB. 1—Andrew McGee, a 28-year-old White male, was found fatally shot in a home in Versailles. John Robert Sethman, 29, was arrested in Ohio within hours and extradited to face homicide charges. He is now in the Allegheny County Jail. FEB. 6—Robert Detorre III, an 18-year-old White male, and Anthony Hoots, a 19-year-old Black male, were killed in a shootout at an apartment complex on Smokeywood Drive, in Swissvale, that also sent two others to local hospitals. Charges have not yet been filed. The investigation continues. FEB. 8–Savon Martin, a 23-year-old Black male, was found on the porch of a house on Inglenook Place, in Homewood, by police responding to a ShotSpotter alert. He had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to his head torso and extremities and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have released no information on possible suspects. The investigation continues. FEB. 17—Ronald Peless, a 51-year-old White male, was discovered bound in a blanket with an electrical cord in the basement of his McKees Rocks apartment building after relatives had asked police to do a welfare check. He had been stabbed multiple times. Three people; Jeffrey Tyniac, 51, Sheila Wagner, 45, and Robert Davies, 60, have been charged in connection with the killing. FEB. 19–Derrick Brown, a 16-year-old Black male from Arnold, Westmoreland County, was found by police in the courtyard of the Northview Heights public housing community on Pittsburgh’s North Side. He had been fatally shot in the head. No arrests have been made. The investigation continues. FEB. 21–Jihad Cromer, a 17-year-old Black male, was shot in the head in the bedroom of a residence on Robb Avenue in McKees Rocks. William Huston, 19, of the West End, has been charged in the case. He is now in the Allegheny County Jail. FEB. 24–Ramadhan Mohamed, a 31-year-old Black male, died at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital from injuries sustained in a beating and robbery three days earlier—which included blows to his head from a hammer. Mohamed, a Somali immigrant cab driver was found about 5 a.m., Feb. 21, facedown and unresponsive on Climax Street in Pittsburgh’s Beltzhoover neighborhood. Police said King Edwards and Hosea Moore, both 20, from Beltzhoover, called the cab with the intent of robbing the driver. Christen Glenn, 18, and Daniel Russell, 19, who had fled the area, were both arrested on Feb. 26 in Youngstown, Ohio. All four are in the Allegheny County Jail. FEB. 25—Dominick BrownHill, a 26-year-old Black male, who had been missing since 2012, was identified from skeletal remains discovered in a small, wooded area behind the 900 block of Washington Street in McKeesport. He died from a gunshot wound to the head. Police have yet to name a suspect in the shooting. FEB. 26—Raghib Dolphin, a 24-year-old Black male from Pittsburgh’s Fineview neighborhood was found fatally shot outside Zangaroos bar on Brighton Road. According to police, Dolphin and two others were denied entry because it was after “last call.” After returning to their car, Dolphin got out to talk to someone he knew. Shots were fired and he returned to the car with multiple wounds to his chest and abdomen. They drove him to Allegheny General Hospital, when he later died. No
arrests have been made. The investigation continues. January Homicides (9) JAN. 3—Gregory McLeod, a 28-year-old Black male and father of three, became Allegheny County’s first homicide victim of 2017 when he was shot multiple times near the intersection of Frankstown Avenue and Neuman Way, in Homewood, just after 5 a.m. No arrests have been made. The investigation continues. Anyone with information is urged to call Pittsburgh’s Violent Crime Unit at 412-323-7800. JAN. 4—Chaz Robinson, a 35-year-old Black male, was fatally shot near the intersection of Lasalle and Broadway Avenues in Dormont after allegedly stealing a bag of marijuana and running off during a drug deal. He was found in his back yard on Espy Street the next morning. Timothy Bevan, 23, of Mount Oliver, has been charged with the shooting. JAN. 11—Jesi Jefferson, a 21-year-old Black male, was discovered fatally shot by Garbage men on their morning rounds in the 1300 Block of Hilty Alley in McKeesport. Allegheny County Lt. Andrew Schurman said he believes the victim was shot the night before. Anyone with information is asked to call county homicide at 412-473-1300. JAN. 14–India Stewart, a 29-year-old Black female, of Pitcairn, was found dead by police in a garage near Yew Way and Maple Alley in Braddock. She had been shot in the neck, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. Her uncle, 48-year-old Kalvin Stewart, is charged with homicide, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and arson in relation to the killing. JAN. 14—Ahmad Foreman, an 18-year-old Black male, was found by police lying along the street in the 500 block of Fannel Street in Garfield. He had been shot multiple times. Police have not released information about a suspect. The investigation continues. Anyone with information is asked to call Pittsburgh’s Violent Crime Unit at 412-323-7800. JAN. 22–Christopher Tompkins, a 57-year-old Black male, was fatally shot by police responding to a home invasion call. When they arrived, Thompkins was coming down the stairs firing in their direction. They fired back, killing him. Police suspect he was actually firing to scare off Juan Brian Jeter-Clark who had allegedly broken in before the officers arrived. Jeter-Clerk has been charged with criminal trespass. JAN. 25–Alfred Diggs, a 21-year-old Black male, died of multiple gunshot wounds at Allegheny General after being transported by paramedics from the shooting scene in Pittsburgh’s Westwood neighborhood. Police have not yet identified a suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call Pittsburgh’s Violent Crime Unit at 412-323-7800. JAN. 25—John Miller, a 40-year-old White male from Franklin County, was found on a set of city steps in the 1000 block of Vinial Street in Spring Garden. He had been shot multiple times. Police are reviewing surveillance footage but have not named a suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call city homicide at 412-323-7161 JAN. 27–Kyle Stauber, an 18-year-old White male, was fatally shot following a home invasion robbery in Avalon. Stauber reportedly chased one attacker off with a baseball bat before one of the robbers shot him. County police have charged John Pignanelli, 25, Greg Scholze and Kayla Naper, both 19, in the case.
JACKIE PAGE-HEIDELBERG tells us she LOVES the New Pittsburgh Courier…!
SPORTS New Pittsburgh Courier
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OCTOBER 4-10, 2017
www.newpittsburghcourier.com
Jaguars (2-2) at Steelers (3-1)
Sunday, Oct. 8 Story B10
Pirates end 2017 season on a positive note, but fail to make playoffs for second straight year by Timothy Cox
Bucs manager Clint Hurdle, the skipper manages to keep a level-headed, positive attitude while conWASHINGTON, D.C.— trolling the team’s helm. In what was their final “We’ve got work to do,” four-game series against said Hurdle, who turned the now-NL East division champions, the Pittsburgh 60 this past July. In this, his seventh season with Pirates played a respectthe Pirates, Hurdle and his able .500 against what teams have certainly expemany baseball experts rienced the highs and lows are calling the next World of baseball mediocrity. Series champions. While this year’s squad In winning two of four finished at a dismal 75-87, games against the vauntHurdle stayed the course ed Washington Nationals for his team. In June, during the long weekend during a two-game series of Thursday, Sept. 28 in Baltimore, he noted that through Sunday, Oct. 1, the Pirates not only played the team showed steady respectfully against the tal- improvement, and that ented Nationals—they also with a little luck and a few additional runs —the demonstrated that spring team could possibly right 2018 should probably its ship. While finishing evoke positive hopeful ac12-games below .500 and tivities, which could result some 17-games behind NL in a return appearance in Central Division front-runthe postseason of 2018. ner Chicago Cubs (2016 At least, one can only hope that successful sparks World Series champs), Hurdle noted his young team from its many young playdoes possess basic skill-sets ers can result in at least a chance to a one-game play- to become a contender. “We’ve got to become off, as the team did a few seasons ago. Meanwhile, in more consistent. We really a pre-game interview with learned a lot about ourFor New Pittsburgh Courier
COURIER PHOTOGRAPHER THOMAS SABOL captures the Pirates’ Starling Marte blasting a base hit in a Sept. 3 game against the Reds. Marte served an 80-game suspension during the 2017 season. selves this year,” said Hurdle, himself an ex-major leaguer, who was a highdraft pick in 1975 with the Kansas City Royals. He enjoyed a 10-year career in the bigs with the Royals, Reds, Mets and Cardinals. Following high school in Merritt Island, Fla., he chose a baseball career after receiving a scholarship to play baseball and quarterback at the University of Miami. Fortunately for the 2017 Pirates, the season ended on a positive note, as they defeated the Nationals 11-8 in game No. 162, in
what would be the longest nine-inning game for both the Pirates and Nationals, in their teams’ history. The game lasted four hours and 22 minutes. During Hurdle’s tenure, in 2011 and 2012, he led the Pirates to 47 and 48 victories, respectively, by the All Star break, but the team collapsed each year – leading to their 19th and 20th consecutive losing seasons. In 2013, the Bucs lost the deciding game 5 against the Cardinals in the NL Division Series. Hurdle won the NL Sporting News
Manager of the Year Award for 2013. In 2014, the Pirates won 88 games and made a second-straight appearance in the NL Wild Card game, but lost the Wild Card game to eventual World Series champion, San Francisco Giants. In 2015 the Pirates again made the postseason as one of the National League Wild Card teams with a 98–64 record, the second best record of any team that season. The Pirates lost the 2015 National League Wild Card Game
to the Chicago Cubs. Last season, the Pirates finished the season third in the NL Central division with 83 losses. It was their first losing record since 2012, failing to qualify for the post season. Team management is hopeful a healthy Andrew McCutchen will return to the team, following a rebound season which saw him hit .279, with 28 home runs, while Josh Bell is a 2017 NL Rookie of the Year candidate after hitting .255 with 26 home runs.
Inside the Pirates’ 2017 Season W-L: 75-87, 17 GB in NL Central Top Batting Avg: McCutchen, .279 Top HR: McCutchen, 28 Top RBI: Bell, 90 Top Stolen Bases: Starling Marte, 21
Other Pirates Notes: Each Pirates regular starter had an ERA over 4. Gerrit Cole led all pitchers with 12 wins. Felipe Rivero led the team with 21 saves. The Pirates open the 2018 season March 29 at Detroit. The Pirates’ 2018 home opener is April 2 vs. Minnesota. -New Pittsburgh Courier
STAYING OR GOING?—Andrew McCutchen, according to team JOSH BELL is sure to get Rookie of the Year consideration. Bell hit .255 with 26 home runs and a team-leading 90 RBI. (Photo by Will brass, will return to the Bucs for the 2018 season. But only time will tell. (Photo by Will McBride) McBride)
That 1971 Schenley High School team was one of the best ever! by Bill Neal For New Pittsburgh Courier
:10—Let’s get right to it. Pictured in the photo are members of the 1971 Schenley High School City League and State Championship Team. Considered by most basketball historians and sports writers as one of the five greatest teams in Western PA history, along with the 1966 Kenny Durrett-led Schenley team, the Dick Devenzio-led Ambridge team, the Simmie Hill-led Midland team and the great Sam Clancy-led Fifth Avenue team. Hey, pick your poison, but every one of those teams take you apart at the seams. But make no mistake about it, few teams possessed the tremendous talent as this “71” Spartan team. The great and future NBA AllStar and World Champion Maurice Lucas…the “Get it all done” force of Tom Thorton…the legendary, and I do mean legendary, Robert “Jeep” Kelly…the complete greatness of Ricky “Black Magic” Coleman (Considered by most the greatest guard in Western PA history) and a support group who, as a unit, could have won the City League
:06— as well. Your Pitt Ralph Smith, Panthers Jerry Harovercooked vey, Norrie Rice, 42-10. Coney, Jeff As well they Matthews, should. But Gary “Dusty” trust me, Meyers, Leon that’s a good Williams, and needed Lester Harper, and James win for the “Squeaky” Blue and Nicholson. Gold. Right (All are set now every to attend.) win matters (Maurice Luand the cas and Jeep season is not Kelly are lost contrary deceased.) to popular :09—The belief! 1971 Schen- 1971 CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM—First row, from left: Coach S. Watkins, L. Williams, R. Chambers, S. Wise, :05—Ohhhley hoop R. McCutchen, G. Scott, Asst. Coach R. Young. Second row, from left: J. Matthews, G. Myers, N. Coney, hh, now the Pirates want L. McGee, J. Harvey, T. Thornton, M. Lucas, R. Head, E. Woods, J. Nicholson, R. Smith, D. Burley team will to rip the join the 1966 cover off the ball and win Schenley City League and Sunday. Yes, I am at my me several times if there some games. C’mon man!!! State Championship team was no Petey Gibson, there spot. No, it’s none of your They beat the Nationals as both are inducted in this would not have been a business. And your Pittsin their final game of the year’s 4th Annual PittsKenny Durrett. Add to that burgh Steelers come out of year, 11-8, and not a soul burgh City League Hall of the darkness of the tunthe legendary names you watched or cared… Fame Awards. Say what nel…(pun intended) to rip know so well…the great:04—I still do have your you want and feel as you ness of Marvin Snowden, the feathers out of the dirty Steelers winning the may, just about everyone Jimmy Prince, Jake Wilbirds. I knew they’d win, Super Bowl, but one thing gives the nod to the “66” liams, Phil Maza, Rod “Hot and, well, 26-9 Steelers… is for sure. In order to do team as the best ever with Rod” Horne, Willie Clay :07—The Penguins are that, “Ben” has got to play Kenny Durrett voted the and Montel Brundage. (All going to the White House, better. I mean much better. greatest player in Western are set to attend except which, by the way, has Right now he’s looking like PA history and subsequent- for Petey Gibson.) (Kenny never been more White. ly the greatest player in Durrett, Montel Brundage Everybody that’s surprised the quarterback for the NCAA Big Five Conference and Willie Clay are deat the decision please raise Perry Commodores. (No history, it’s hard to argue. ceased.) your hand… anybody? Any- offense Rod Rutherford.) But it by no means was a :03—Speaking of Ruth:08—Oh yea, about that body? Nope. That’s what I erford, now at the helm of one man show. Durrett told Steeler game this past thought.
Perry football, one of the greatest student athletes in City League history and quite possibly the 2nd greatest quarterback in Pitt history, greatly under-appreciated. And a true gentleman! :02—For the few of you still holding onto the idea that the NFL players’ protest should have been kept off the field, just a little reminder…the Boston Tea Party wasn’t held in a back alley somewhere! :01—Last call. The 4th Annual City League Hall of Fame Inductions—Friday, Oct. 6. Pre-event reception at the Savoy, 6 p.m.-until. Welcome home, everybody, no cost, Dress to Impress, free parking, cash bar & kitchen. The main event Saturday, Oct. 7 at the August Wilson Center - Dress to Impress - $50 Adults, $25 youth 12 and under elaborate hors d’oeuvres spread by the Savoy - cash bar - street and garage parking - vendors - 50/50 - and a darn good time I promise you! For information, call AGI at 412-6284856 - Curtis Hefflin at 412-613-9136 - Fred Lucas at 412-999-7664. :00—O.J. is free! That’s all I got . . . for now! — GAME OVER.—
SPORTS
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
OCTOBER 4-10, 2017
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DON’T BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU HEAR
IMANI CHRISTIAN ACADEMY SAINTS, preparing for their contest against Jeannette, Sept. 23 at Graham Field in Wilkinsburg. (Photos courtesy Imani Christian Academy)
Imani Christian Academy coaches, parents say allegations against team were ‘misrepresented’ by Smokin’ Jim Frazier and Rob Taylor Jr.
“No fans ever ran on to the field as reported and the players never laid a finger on each other. This should Courier Staff Writers never have been referred to Sheldon Williams recent- as a fight or a scuffle. The ly wrote the song, “Born referees should have never Guilty” by Frisson. Both called the police.” Most media reports in the Pittsburghers, the song, just released via YouTube days after the alleged inci-
should have been the referees for calling a lopsided game and losing control of their emotions. It was the worst officiating that I have seen—and I’ve played in and watched a lot of sports.” At a time when enrollment was in decline and the survival of Imani Christian
SAM FAIRLEY on Oct. 1, drives home a message of how one would feel if they were pulled over by police, “just because.” Then, when one’s kids ask why, one would respond: “This is how it is.” This is how some parents of Imani Christian Academy football players felt on Sept. 23, after officials stopped the game against the Jeannette Jayhawks with 4:30 left in the fourth quarter. The Jayhawks were leading, 54-36. Officials decided to discontinue the game, ejected a fan, and the police were called. A few days later, on Wednesday, Sept. 27, a closed-door hearing occurred between officials, team head coaches and the WPIAL. “I was most disheartened by the way in which the referees misrepresented the facts and how the media continued to recklessly repeat it,” said Dr. Rahmon Hart, an Imani Christian Academy parent, father of Rahmon Hart Jr. (No. 11).
dents stated that officials noticed an Imani Christian fan throwing a plastic bottle at the opposition’s bench. Officials did not feel as though the venue was properly secured, and three officials testified that the conditions were probable for on- and off-field scuffles. Over 20 penalties were called on Imani, to 13 for Jeannette. Five Imani Christian players were ejected from the game. Imani Christian plays their home games at Wilkinsburg’s Graham Field. “It is upsetting as to ‘why’ they would lie about our team and fans,” Dr. Hart continued in an exclusive interview with the New Pittsburgh Courier. “I personally think it is embedded in racism and it was appalling to see our children and coaches targeted. As it relates to the WPIAL, the referees did a terrible job. If anyone should have been reprimanded, it
RAHMON HART JR.
Academy in East Hills was in doubt, head coach Ronnell Heard worked quietly behind the scenes mentoring and coaching disadvantaged youth. Heard’s from-the-heart objectives seems to have paid off on the field as well. The small private school with big goals made it to the WPIAL Class A playoffs for the first time last season. Then they beat Our Lady Sacred Heart to earn their first-ever WPIAL playoff win. The Imani Christian Academy Saints made news this past June, but this time, undoubtedly, for the right reason—Rahmon Hart Jr. announced on Twitter he was transferring from Plum Senior High School to Imani Christian, and play football for the Saints. “My family and I were looking for a school with good teachers who really care about the students,” Hart told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “Imani might
be smaller but I think it is a great school. They were very impressive. I can’t wait to be part of the family environment.” But on Sept. 27, Coach Heard’s name was in the news in the form of a public censure. The WPIAL, following its hearing, said Heard didn’t control his team, and demanded more security at home games. “The WPIAL censured me, and I just want to move past it and move on by getting our players ready for the playoffs,” Heard told the Courier in an exclusive interview. “No kids hit each other. No blows were thrown and we are looking forward to our next home games.” “I am upset because our young men were mistreated and cheated by the referees,” said Randy Reed, an Imani Christian parent. “If you know the history of Imani, the WPIAL never wanted them in the league, period. We as human beings want a good education for our children and for them to be treated fairly. It seems the referees are part of the whole scheme of not wanting Imani in the WPIAL.” It was an interesting, confusing, unfortunate week for the Imani Christian Saints. But there was still a game to play, Friday, Sept. 29. Underdogs and undermanned against the Clairton Bears in Clairton, the Saints, somehow, marched to victory. It was the upset of the weekend,
an 18-6 win for the Saints (4-2, 3-1), delivering the Bears (4-1, 3-1) their first loss of the season and their first conference loss in four years. Imani Christian, with their heads held high, returns home to Graham Field for a 1:30 p.m. matchup with Bishop Canevin, Saturday, Oct. 7. It’s the first of four regular season games remaining for a team that, according to its head coach, is just that—a
team. “I expect my team to play with discipline and to play with poise and to win the game. We have a confident team that believes they are going to win and we have the talent and depth,” Heard said. “The one thing about this game is, it teaches life lessons and life lessons enable you to rise above any circumstances in which we are put in, and at the end of the day we expect to win.”
DASHAWN WRIGHT
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COURIER STEELERS CENTRAL
OCTOBER 4-10, 2017
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
Bell’s performance against Baltimore proves offense must revolve around him
It may have taken a month, but Le’Veon Bell officially arrived to the party, and in a big way. Bell, who had been relatively average, to be polite, through the first three games of the 2017 season, amassed 186 total yards against the hated Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, Oct. 1; 144 of which came on the ground via 35 carries. The Steelers won, 26-9, to improve to 3-1 on the season. The Ravens are now 2-2. Bell’s emergence couldn’t have come at a better time after the Black and Gold were coming off an embarrassing loss to the lowly Chicago Bears, Sept. 24, in which they couldn’t do much of anything right. Running the football, something they have historically done well since Bell’s arrival in 2013, had been a struggle in 2017, until Pittsburgh entered Baltimore’s hated nest. Bell put on a display that Steeler fans have been accustomed to over the last four seasons and have been waiting for since the Steelers season kicked off last month. His patented patience seemed to return, his bursts of speed and his splash plays all came back with a vengeance. Bell appeared to be on a one-man mission to get the Steelers offense back on track. In doing so, he allowed Ben Roethlisberger to throw more efficient passes as well as spread the ball around a bit more, enabling the offense to be far less predictable. Since Bell led the way on the ground with 144 yards against the Ravens, it was
Martavis Bryant’s 48 yards that led the team in the air. Bell wasn’t far behind with 42. After watching that display against Baltimore, it became abundantly clear to me and I’m sure to Todd Haley and Mike Tomlin as well, that the offense must center around Le’Veon Bell. He’s a game changer due to his splash play ability, but he can
supplementing some of the runs with short passes will work just as well, if not, better. Additionally, as much as I’ve soured on the wildcat formation over the years, I actually wouldn’t mind seeing Bell run it every now and again to throw another wrinkle at opposing defenses (including letting him throw it once or twice). The Steelers have playmakers all over the offensive side of the ball with Brown, Bryant and Roethlisberger, but the most impactful is Bell. It started in Baltimore and it must continue against
LE’VEON BELL (Photo by Brian Cook)
MIKE PELAIA COURIER STEELERS CENTRAL control the clock far better than anyone else on the team. He doesn’t necessarily need to get 35 carries against Jacksonville this Sunday, Oct. 8 in order for the team to win the game, but the offense must start with him. In doing so, the big plays that Roethlisberger and his receivers have been craving all season long will begin to open up. The explosive abilities of Antonio Brown and Bryant and even rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster (who had a touchdown reception against Baltimore) can be capitalized upon because defenses will have to stay true to the run first. Everything is different when Bell is the priority. There are so many ways to get the ball to Bell. Obviously he’ll receive handoffs the majority of the time, but he’s the best receiving back in the NFL. Thus,
THE RUST IS OFF—Le’Veon Bell, shown here in a Sept. 17 game against Minnesota, is back to his old form after rushing for 144 yards in the 26-9 win over Baltimore, Oct. 1. (Photo by Brian Cook) Jacksonville and beyond; the offense must center around Number 26 and explode from there.
This time, the Steelers were the “Bird Catchers” Same approach must continue against Jaguars, Oct. 8
“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore. While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, as of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. ‘Tis some visitor,’ I muttered, ‘tapping at my chamber door; only this, and nothing more.’” (Excerpt from “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe) BALTIMORE—In the not so distant past, the Pittsburgh Steelers would journey to M&T Bank Stadium to face the Baltimore Ravens and more often than not the “bird catchers” from the Steel City were transformed from bird catchers into bird watchers, helplessly watching as the net that Pittsburgh set for their feathered adversary, more
often than not became a method of self-entrapment for…themselves. The city of Baltimore and their football team seemed gleeful, reminding everyone that would read or listen that the Ravens had defeated the Steelers 8 out of the last 10 games before the 26-9 thrashing that the Steelers administered to the “birds from Chesapeake Bay” on October 1. “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore.” Trying to scare children with ghost stories generally only works during their preschool and pre-K years. It is difficult to give young men of today’s football industry pause by relying on the exploits of the past, especially when millions of dollars are at stake. Remember all of the hogwash? Eh, Ravens head master John Harbaugh is a better coach than the Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin. Harbaugh was hailed by many as the “Belichick” of the AFC North. The Steelers were not disciplined enough to stay the course. The game plan of Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley was just too predictable for the defensively talent-laden Ravens squad. When all of the great success was experienced by the Ravens, one thing was painfully obvious; Baltimore had the “horses.” They had teams that featured players with names like: Jonathan Ogden, Ray Lewis, Michael, Oher, Ray Rice, Anquan Bolden, Ed Reed, Todd Heap and Jacoby Jones. I could go on… However, If I were the Ravens, I might be more concerned with these next few tidbits that I am about to offer up as opposed to the past nastiness of Ray Lewis and the former flashiness of former Ravens standout safety Ed Reed. According to the Steelers postgame notes, the Steelers yielded nine points to the Ravens, the ninth time in regular-season series history they held Baltimore to nine
points or less. The Steelers also held Baltimore scoreless in the first half for the third time in regular-season series history. My father once said, “You can have the greatest trainers and the greatest jockey in the world but if you enter a mule in the Kentucky Derby to compete you’ll never stand in the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs.”
AUBREY BRUCE COURIER STEELERS CENTRAL There have been many years that the Steelers were not outcoached or outplayed, they were simply outmanned. There were many theories in regards to the failures of the Black and Gold but last Sunday the B-More Ravens brought a bunch of docile homing pigeons to a cockfight and you can guess the outcome of that competition. The Steelers must remember that the tapping that they hear on their window is not the Ravens trying to get in the house; The “dirty birds” are trying to get out. There is no time to relax for Pittsburgh because, this Sunday, Oct. 8 at Heinz Field, the Steelers are set to face the “Sacksonville Jaguars,” the name that some of the Jacksonville Jaguars’ defense have given themselves. The Jaguars are tied with the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans for the jumbled lead of the AFC South division. Beware of the Jags. Presently the Jaguars’ starting QB, Blake Bortles, is the best signal caller that the Pittsburgh defense has faced to date. Let’s hope that this is not another trap game for Antonio “I need the ball” Brown. Remember “Da Bears” game? Brown lead the Steelers in catches and receiving yards but Pittsburgh lost. Remember, Antonio; team first...me second.