AURN back in offices after 5-day lockout A4
SEPTEMBER 21-27, 2016
METRO
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
Community Calendar Emergency Preparedness Day SEPT. 23—The Minority Emergency Preparedness Task will host an Emergency Preparedness Day Fair, 1-3 p.m. at the Arlington Heights Community Center, 3123 Cordell Place. The event will include presentations by first responders and safety experts, and will also feature refreshments and giveaways.
College Fair SEPT. 24—The Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church Scholarship Ministry will sponsor a Fall College Fair, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Pittsburgh Obama, 515 N. Highland Ave. Representatives from more than 11 instate colleges and universities will be in attendance.
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“I called Ron and offered to pay the balance of the rent as a show of good faith to get things moving, he said no—not until we get paid,” said Lopes. “I emailed Ron Sr. (who founded the company in 1971) and told him competitors are taking gospel stations away—and they won’t be coming back. He said he didn’t care.” Davenport Jr. said he locked out AURN because it has not been paying for news and entertainment services SBN provides since April. He blamed indifference by the $250 billion hedge fund Guggenheim Capital which owns AURN’s parent company Access 1 Communications. “So now we’re dealing with this goliath that doesn’t care about jobs, news, sports, services or people. They just care about money,” he said. “And we are suffering because they don’t want to do anything other than put us out of business.” Lopes said Davenport Jr.’s explanation for it is not accurate. “This has nothing to do with Guggenheim,” he said. “We reimburse Sheridan for services monthly—the money never made it to the intended parties. We learned a few months back that we owed a year’s worth of health and welfare payments to the unions. They (Sheridan) invoiced us—we paid them—but the money
never made it to the parties they said they were paying.” One of those parties, Lopes said, is the landlord, who hasn’t been paid since February. “SBC employees were shut out too; the news people, the gospel network— and they employ them,” he said. “They are jeopardizing our future, because we aren’t delivering services to our affiliates, and they’ve impacted their own people—it’s mind boggling.” Lopes said this all stems from a protracted legal battle that, in May, cost Davenport Jr. and his father, Ron Davenport Sr., their 51 percent controlling interest in AURN. The untangling of assets accumulated since the Davenport Sr. founded Sheridan in 1971 is an ongoing, convoluted process. Of this latest impasse, Lopes said he expects a rapid solution, because as Davenport Jr. acknowledged, AURN is the only entity buying SBC services. “We’re in transition and there are bumps along the road,” said Lopes. “This is one of them It’s a significant one, but it’s nothing we won’t overcome. It’s just unfortunate because this move doesn’t resolve anything—they have no revenue stream. I’m it.” “This just seems like anger to me. It’s reckless,” he said. “It’s biting the hand that feeds you—how’s that working for you?” Davenport Jr. said his at-
Day Of Prayer Event AURN OFFICES (Photos by J.L. Martello) torneys were not even present for the injunction hearing, which is highly irregular—but they will be there for the hearing on making the injunction permanent. He also confirmed that he has instructed the news, sports and entertainment
staff to stay home until further notice. “We have to talk to AURN about about what we’re owed, and whether we will continue providing services going forward, and if so, how much we’ll be paid,” he said.
“It costs money to provide this stuff. Yes, AURN is the sole outlet for our service— but that’s because it’s the only one we’ve used for 20 years.” The injunction hearing is schedule for 2 p.m., Sept. 21, in Ward’s chambers.
WestinghouseHighSchoolbecomingcareerhub
“With something of this magnitude, we’re trying an approach that we believe is necessary to further that transparency.” About a dozen protesters gathered outside the Tulsa County courthouse on the morning of Sept. 19, waving signs that read, “This Stops Now” and “Not Going, Keep Protesting.” They also chanted, “Hands up, don’t shoot.” One protester, Tulsa resident Mark Whited, said more needed to be done to “bridge the mistrusts” between communities. Authorities said the shooting occurred after an officer
stopped to investigate a vehicle in the middle of a road. Police said Crutcher approached after officers arrived to assist. Police spokeswoman Jeanne MacKenzie has said Crutcher refused orders to put up his hands. Police say Tulsa officer Betty Shelby fired the fatal shot, while officer Tyler Turnbough used a stun gun on Crutcher. Both officers are White, MacKenzie said Sept. 19. Shelby, who was placed on paid leave, was hired in December 2011, while Turnbough was hired in January 2009, police said.
Police-Community Relations Forum OCT. 4—The Church of the Redeemer presents the first in a series of Great Issues Forums on Race in Pittsburgh, 7 p.m., in its sanctuary, 5700 Forbes Ave. in Oakland. The police-community relations forum will feature presentations and discussions among University of Pittsburgh Law Professor David Harris, Pittsburgh police Chief Cameron McLay, Adjunct Professor at the Pitt School of Public Health Richard Garland, and Alliance for Police Accountability President Brandi Fisher.
50th Anniversary Celebration
ENGINEERING THE FUTURE—Westinghouse Electric Senior Project Engineer Walter Winn and Westinghouse High School sophomore Quelyn Holt team up to build a better spaghetti tower than other teams. (Photo by J.L. Martello)
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SEPT. 24—The National Day of Prayer For Our Youth will be celebrated from 12:30-3:30 p.m. at Freedom Corner in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. The event will include singers, dancers, and ministers from many congregations, Mayor Bill Peduto, state Rep. Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald are among the invited speakers. The National Prayer will be given by Covenant Church of Pittsburgh Bishop Joseph Garlington. For more information, contact Shirley Jones Douglas at 412-969-7299.
OCT. 5—The Community College of Allegheny County will celebrate its 50th year, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. beginning with a ribbon cutting and rededication of West Hall, 808 Ridge Ave. On Pittsburgh’s North Side, which has been repurposed as the college’s new Cultural & Fine Arts Center and includes the Art, Music, Speech, Language and Criminal Justice departments, as well as an art gallery and choral performance area. Tours of West Hall will follow the ceremony, as will presentations and a reception at the Forester Student Center from alumni, staff and members of the class of 1966.
Lifesharing Fair OCT. 6—The Allegheny County Lifesharing Coalition will host its 5th annual Lifesharing Fair from 5-8 p.m. at Citizen Care, 250 Clever Rd., McKees Rocks, 15136 for people diagnosed with an intellectual disability, their families, and anyone interested in becoming a provider family to learn more about Lifesharing, a residential service designed to provide care and support in a family home setting for someone with an intellectual disability. To register or for additional information, contact the Office of Intellectual Disability at 412-253-1252.
FIRST RESPONDER—Westinghouse High School officially starts its Emergency Response Technology Program, complete with an ambulance and fire truck, seen here when donated by the city last year. (Photo by Deanna Garcia WESA 90.5) CONTINUED FROM A1
were definitely engaged in the activity and that’s the idea. It’s very important for young Black students to see other minorities—engineers—doing something. We have a couple of graduates from Westinghouse that are participating as well, and its’ giving back to the community, and that’s also a plus.” Denise Hughes, spokesperson for Westinghouse Electric, said coming to the high school to mentor and promote the skills students need to cultivate to work for firms like hers was a natural fit with their annual Day of Caring, which they do in conjunction with the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania. “We thought it was a great opportunity to come and share some of our engineering expertise careers mentoring,” she said. “We had a lively interaction during the presentations about types of engineering, what compensation they bring, and all different disciplines the¥ require and what they should be talking about
with to guidance counselors. The students were very engaged and asked a lot of questions.” Quelyn Holt, a 15-year-old sophomore, said having Westinghouse employees who look like him makes a difference, and he plans to remain engaged. “This is very important actually—especially if we all want to go into engineering,” he said. “I want to be either an electrical or mechanical engineer when I get older.” But even for those who do not plan to attend college and still need post-secondary technical training. The ‘House now has another unique opportunity with its Emergency Response Technology Program, which provides training to prepare students for careers as paramedics, firefighters and police officers. It officially began Sept. 14. In addition to providing skilled career training, the program also hopes to serve as a means to increase diversity among Pittsburgh’s public safety personnel within a few years.
Approved by the school board last year, it received an initial donation from the city of a fire truck. It now also boasts an ambulance. It also received $300,000 from the American Federation of Teachers and $25,000 worth of equipment, including firefighter uniforms and breathing masks from the city and several community groups. The program, which still has a few slots available, is open to 10th- through 12thgraders across the district and provides hands-on lessons and training in facilities used by officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians. Students also team up with mentors who are working in their areas of interest District Career and Technical Education Executive Director Angela Mike said the inaugural class is made up, of 15 students, three of them girls. “We want these kids to see people who look like them and are successful in the field,” she said. (J.L. Martello contributed to this story.)
Citywide Interfaith Service OCT. 6—Pentecostal Temple COGIC’s Bishop Loran Mann, the Black Political Empowerment Project and the Coalition Against Violence will host an citywide interfaith service on violence and civic engagement at 6 p.m. The service will feature the blessing of youth in attendance and of those who have lost loved ones to violence. The Pentecostal Ensemble, the Mon Valley Community Choir, and Pastor Deryk Tines and the Lemmington Gospel Choral will perform. For more information, call 412-758-7898.
Military Career Fair OCT. 20—RecruitMilitary will sponsor an All Veteran Career Fair, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Heinz Field, 100 Art Rooney Ave. The free hiring event is designed for veterans, transitioning military personnel, National Guard members, reservists and spouses. For more information, visit www.recruitmilitary.com.
Market Square Farmers Market THROUGH OCT. 27—From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., every Thursday. This season will see the addition of 10 new full and part-time vendors including Two Acres Farms, A519 Chocolate and Pittsburgh Fudge Co. Again this year, Just Harvest’s Fresh Access program will allow credit/debit and food stamp EBT cards to be used to purchase fresh produce, meat, dairy and baked goods.