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Peduto laments ‘two Pittsburghs’ 10 of 11 Moves on economic inclusion and affordable housing homicides Black lives VOL. 107, NO. 5
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FEBRUARY 3-9, 2016
by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer
After again noting the city has to do more to include minorities, especially African Americans, in its economic revitalization during an address at the University of Pittsburgh, Mayor Bill Peduto made two announcements that he hopes will address some of the short- and long-term inequities facing Blacks in
“We want to connect more families to economic opportunity in Pittsburgh, and this project helps us help our families to build systems of inclusion and financial capabilities.” MAYOR BILL PEDUTO
the city. “Growth is like cholesterol,” he told the audience at the Center for Race and Social Problems, Jan. 26. “There is good growth and there is bad growth, and if we simply do everything we can just to make money— without making sure everyone in the city is involved in the growth—we’ll be repeating mistakes of the
We need to teach value of life early
by Ashley Johnson MAYOR BILL PEDUTO
SEE PEDUTO A4
Courier Staff Writer
As January has ended, Allegheny County starts 2016 off with 11 homicides, 10 of them Black individuals. That’s more than last year. At the end of January in 2015 there had been 10 homicides; seven of them Black, all of them Black men. One of the 11 homicides that stands out this month is the
Employee finds noose at East Liberty Home Depot An investigation is underway after an employee discovered a noose in the aisle of the East Liberty location of Home Depot. According to the employee, who contacted the New Pittsburgh Courier, but did not want to be identified, the noose was found in aisle 14, near the rope and chains, hanging from a rope dispenser. Since the discovery, the employee said he feels he is “working in a hostile environment and feels threatened now to go to work.” He even describes it as a form of terrorism. According to him, this is not the first time he has encountered something like this. He claims he has seen swastikas written on
MODERATOR—Mary Parker moderates the workshop, “Dismantling Institutional Racism and Fighting for Racial Equality in Organizations.” (Photo by J.L. Martello)
Black & White Reunion holds 18th Annual Summit Against Racism
SEE NOOSE A5
Council weighs next steps on wage report
by Michael B. Rose For New Pittsburgh Courier
During the worst blizzard of the winter many stayed in to avoid the cold, but an intrepid group of 500 citizens braved that cold to embrace the warmth of fellowship and community at the 18th Annual Summit Against Racism. Tim Stevens founded the Black & White Reunion in his first year
by Christian Morrow Courier Staff writer
When Pittsburgh Councilman Rev. Ricky Burgess released his wage committee report on service worker salaries in the city, particularly at local hospitals, he called the treatment that workers receive from UPMC a “national disgrace.” And when his committee met with city council last month, most of his colleagues agreed. They also agreed to support the 177page report’s recommendations to call for minimum wage of at least $15 an hour, support unionization, expand affordable housing options and taking action to “incentivize hospital employers to improve pay and working conditions.” But rather than offering actual incentives, it urges intimidation—achieving its goals “through the exercise of its authority in the areas on budgeting, contracting, zoning and building
as president of the NAACP Pittsburgh Branch, in response to the Oct. 12, 1995, death of Black motorist Jonny Gammage at the hands of Brentwood, Whitehall and Baldwin Borough police officers during a traffic stop. This year there were 34 workshops in total, doubled from last year. Specifically, the summit focused on education and strategies for justice involving race, sex, class,
age and religion. “We had a delayed start at 9:20 a.m., but a lot of people were already in the house around 8 a.m. Everyone had an opportunity to go to at least three workshops,” Stevens said. “The Saturday after the Martin Luther King holiday, we view as a way in January to jump start SEE REUNION A4
For The New Pittsburgh Courier
In November, the Sin City Bike Club raised money to bury 2-year-old Tai’lor Crowder. Two months later, Reginald Smith and the rest of Sin City reassembled to have a community day in Homewood and feed the homeless. “This is a way of us showing our appreciation for our community and I thought what better way for us to show our appreciation than to feed people. Plus its cold outside you know what I mean?” Smith says he and the rest
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of Sin City are tired of the negative narrative about biker groups and about Homewood in general. The solution? Take a leadership role and show that there is love in the community. “When Sin City speaks, people listen. There were a couple of guys running the streets and when they saw what we were doing they said, I’ll volunteer because right here what you’re doing people will pay attention. When people sit and eat, they also talk about their SEE SIN A4
SEE HOMICIDES A5
Free tax prep and filing help widely available by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer
Sin City: Feeding the community just a start by Michael B. Rose
shooting death of Janese Jackson Talton. It was a death that touched people not only locally, but nationally as well. The disbelief that something so senseless like this could happen is still with people today, almost two weeks after it occurred. Talton was a 29-year-old woman enjoying a night out with friends when it tragically ended because a 41-year-old man could not handle being rejected. Never should a woman, nor anyone for that matter, feel that their life could be threatened because they are not interested in someone.
AT YOUR SERVICE—Lana Logan, a member of Sin City, helps serve food to the community. (Photo by J.L. Martello)
Though Feb. 29 makes this leap year’s already extended tax season a day longer, that doesn’t mean agencies offering tax preparation and filing services are waiting until the last minute to get word out about their campaigns. The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, which has a vested interest in making tax payments faster and easier, is doing just that by accepting both state and federal returns filed electronically through several approved tax software vendors. These include Intuit/TurboTax, H&R Block, 1040Now, OnLine Taxes and TaxAct, and links to all can be found at www.pafreefile.com. Some of these vendors have age and/or income restrictions, and only Intuit/TurboTax and 1040Now support all PA tax forms. Generally, filers with federally adjusted SEE TAX A4
J. Pharoah Doss asks
Reparations: What precisely is there to support Forum A7
Trevor Noah writing book of personal essays due in November
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NEW YORK (AP)—Trevor Noah is upholding another tradition left from his Comedy Central predecessor Jon Stewart: He’s writing a book. Publisher Spiegel & Grau told The Associated Press on Tuesday that it had acquired a collection of personal essays by the 31-yearold Noah about “growing up in South Africa during the last gasps of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that came with its demise.’’ The book is currently untitled and will come out in November. “I couldn’t find a good book about myself so I decided to write one. And just like me this book doesn’t have an appendix,’’ Noah said in a statement issued through Spiegel & Grau, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Financial terms were not disclosed, but two publishing officials with knowledge
of the negotiations said the deal was worth more than $3 million. The officials were not authorized to discuss the deal and asked not to be identified. Stewart, whom Noah succeeded at Comedy Central
last fall, collaborated with his “Daily Show’’ team on the 2004 best-seller “America (The Book).’’ In recent years, other comedians have had success with books of essays, including Tina Fey and Mindy Kaling.
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP)—A survivor hidden in a tree says he watched Boko Haram extremists firebomb huts and heard the screams of children among people burned to death in the latest attack by Nigeria’s homegrown Islamic extremists. Scores of charred corpses and bodies with bullet wounds littered the streets from Saturday night’s attack on Dalori village just 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Maiduguri, the birthplace of Boko Haram and the biggest city in the northeast, according to survivors and soldiers.
The shooting and burning continued for four hours, survivor Alamin Bakura said, weeping on a telephone call to The Associated Press. He said several of his family members were killed or wounded. The violence continued as three female suicide bombers blew up among people who managed to flee to neighboring Gamori village, killing many people, according to a soldier at the scene who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to journalists. It was not known how
many scores of people were killed because bodies still were being collected, including from the surrounding bushes where the insurgents hunted down fleeing villagers, according to Abba Shehu, a security guard helping collect corpses. Boko Haram has taken to attacking soft targets, increasingly with suicide bombers, since the military last year drove them out of towns and villages in northeastern Nigeria. The 6-year Islamic uprising has killed about 20,000 people and driven 2.5 million from their homes.
NEW YORK (AP)—Hundreds of Latin American and Caribbean cities are being invited to vie for millions of dollars from former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as his charity extends an innovation competition to a new region. Bloomberg Philanthropies announced its latest Mayors Challenge competition Wednesday. It of-
fers up to $5 million for initiatives that address major local issues, make local government more efficient or get citizens more engaged. Following similar competitions in the U.S. and Europe, this one is open to cities of over 100,000 people in many countries from Argentina to Mexico to Haiti, though not Cuba.
While the U.S. and Cuba have been working toward normalizing relations since late 2014, the Bloomberg foundation notes that the U.S. trade embargo continues. Cities without local governments, such as those in federal districts, also are excluded. Still, the charity says more than 900 cities are eligible. “We’re looking forward to seeing what exciting new ideas emerge,’’ Michael Bloomberg said in a statement. Winners of a $5 million grand prize and four $1 million awards are to be announced in the fall. The first two Mayors Challenges were won by Providence, Rhode Island, which is working on improving poor children’s vocabulary, and Barcelona, Spain, which is focusing on addressing social isolation among elderly people.
IN THE STUDIO—In this Sept. 29, 2015 file photo, Trevor Noah appears during a taping of “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Boko Haram burning kids alive in northeast Nigeria: witness
NYC’s Bloomberg offers Latin American city-innovation prizes
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Week of Feb. 3-9 February 3 1908—Jack Johnson becomes the first Black heavyweight boxing champion by defeating Tommy Burns in Australia. Although he was not officially given the title until 1910 after he defeated the American Jim Jeffries in Las Vegas. Many Whites reacted violently to his defeat of Jeffries sparking riots in several cities. In Johnson’s home state of Texas, films of Johnson defeating White opponents were banned. Johnson reigned as heavyweight champion for 7 years. But he had two “faults”—he believed in speaking his mind and he liked White women. Those two tendencies landed him in jail in 1920 on trumped up charges of violating the Mann Act—a law that made it illegal to transport White women across state lines for “immoral purposes.” Johnson, who is arguably the greatest boxer who ever lived, died in an automobile accident near Raleigh, N.C., on June 10, 1946. JACK JOHNSON February 4 1913—Civil rights heroine Rosa Parks is born on this day in Tuskegee, Ala. It was her refusal in December 1955 to give up her seat to a White man on a Montgomery, Ala., bus that sparked the modern Civil Rights Movement. For refusing to obey the laws of segregation, she was arrested and convicted. Montgomery Blacks responded with a boycott of city buses. A young minister named Martin Luther King Jr. was called upon to lead the boycott, which would last for nearly 13 months. The drama and accompanying legal challenge all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court captivated the nation and propelled Dr. King into the national international spotlight as the nation’s premier civil rights leader. Mrs. Parks died in 2005 at 92. February 5 1866—Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, one of the great White heroes of Black history, offers his famous amendment to the Freedman’s Bureau bill to use land ROSA PARKS confiscated from former slave owners as well as some public lands to guarantee each adult former slave “40 acres and a mule.” However, even after the Civil War there was enough anti-Black and pro-South sentiment in Congress to defeat the measure 126 to 37. If the Stevens measure had passed, it may have changed the entire course of Black history in America because the former slaves would have had a solid economic foundation upon which to build their new lives and the poverty which plagued African-Americans for the next 100 years could have been prevented. 1934—Henry “Hammerin’ Hank” Aaron was born on this day in Mobile, Ala. The baseball great and eventual home run king (until Barry Bonds) began his career with the old Negro Baseball League playing for the Indianapolis Clowns before joining the Atlanta Braves in 1954. 1945—Jamaican Reggae legend Bob Marley, is born on this day as Robert Nesta Marley in Nine Miles, Saint Ann, Jamaica. He used his music not only to entertain but to tirelessly spread Reggae and the Rastafarian religion from Africa to Europe and the U.S. Much of his music deals with the struggles of the impoverished and the oppressed. Marley died from complications due to cancer in Miami in May 1981. February 6 1820—The first organized emigration of Blacks from the U.S. back to Africa occurs. Eighty-six free Blacks leave New York HANK AARON Harbor on a ship named the “Mayflower of Liberia.” The group lands on the West African coast on March 9 and joins with ex-slaves freed by Britain to help form what would eventually become the West African nation of Sierra Leone. 1993—Tennis star Arthur Ashe dies on this day after contracting AIDS from a 1988 blood transfusion. Ashe was the first African-American to win at Wimbledon defeating Jimmy Connors in the finals in 1975. Born and raised in Richmond, Va., Ashe was also known for his activism in various social causes. Once asked what type of attitude was required of a champion, Ashe responded, “The ideal attitude is to be physically loose and mentally tight.” February 7 1871—Alcorn A&M College (later “University”) opens in Mississippi. The great Black legislator Hiram Revels resigns his seat in Congress to become the first president of the institution, which would grow to become one of the leading Black colleges in the nation. At first it was only open to men but began admitting women in 1895. 1883—Eubie Blake is born James Hubert Blake in Baltimore, Md. Along with Noble Sissle, he popularizes Ragtime music. The genre had its birth in Black bars and whore houses EUBIE BLAKE in Southern and Midwestern cities. But Sissle and Blake took it mainstream with hits ranging from the “Charleston Rag” to “I’m Just Wild about Harry” to “Shuffle Along.” Blake died when he was 100 years old on Feb. 12, 1983. 1967—Comedian-actor Chris Rock is born on this day in Andrews, S.C. He is the oldest of seven children. February 8 1894—Congress repeals the Enforcement Act and thus made it easier for states, especially in the South, to take away Black voting rights. Originally passed in 1870, the Act had established criminal penalties for interfering with a person’s right to vote. After its repeal, Southern states passed a host of measures including poll taxes, literacy tests and so-called vouchers of “good character”—all designed to block or limit the number of Blacks who could vote. 1925—Marcus Mosiah Garvey, the “Black Moses,” enters federal prison in Atlanta, Ga., after being convicted of what many Blacks felt were trumped up mail fraud charges. Garvey, a master of grandeur and showmanship, had built the largest Black mass movement in African-American history by emphasizing racial pride, economic empowerment and the building of a Black empire in Africa. Born in Jamaica and having traveled throughout South America, Garvey had become distressed with the plights of Blacks throughout the world and organized the Universal Negro Improvement AssociMARCUS GARVEY ation—UNIA—in 1914. He brought the UNIA to America in 1915 and its growth exploded. At its height, the UNIA had several hundred thousand members and owned businesses ranging from bakeries to shipping lines. Garvey’s rapid growth and increasing power on masses of Blacks are what attracted negative attention from the federal government. After his imprisonment, the organization never recovered. He died in London, England in 1940. 1968—In what became known as “The Orangeburg Massacre” police opened fire on protesting Black students on the campus of South Carolina State University. The officers responded to rockthrowing with a volley of shots, which left three students dead and 27 wounded. The students were protesting a segregated bowling alley near the school’s campus in Orangeburg, S.C. The students killed were Samuel Hammond, Delano Middleton and Henry Smith. 1978—Leon Spinks defeats Muhammad Ali and captures the heavyweight boxing championship. Ali regains the title in September of the same year becoming the first person to win the title three times. February 9 1944—Award winning novelist Alice Walker is born in Eatonton, Ga. She is known for “telling the Black woman’s story.” Perhaps her most famous ALICE WALKER novel was “The Color Purple.” 1995—Dr. Bernard Harris becomes the first African-American to walk in space as part of a joint Russian and American mission. However, Harris was far from being the first Black person in space. That honor goes to a Black Cuban pilot who flew aboard the Soviet Soyuz 38 in 1980. His name was Arnaldo Tamayo-Mendez.
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Clinton’s firewall? Black voters the key in South Carolina by Bill Barrow COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)— At Hillary Clinton’s South Carolina headquarters, a young staffer readies a stack of pictures showing the former secretary of state with her old boss, President Barack Obama. Then the staffer bolts out the door. His destination: African American businesses across South Carolina’s largest city. “If you don’t have tape, I’ll bring some to you,” Brandon Lewis offers to business owner Catherine Kelly, who has said she’ll hang the photo in her Columbia beauty shop. “I’ve already got a picture of Obama,” Kelly tells him, expressing pride in the nation’s first Black president. She assures him: “We’re with Hillary.” Black voters represent a solid majority of the Democratic electorate in South Carolina and could make all the difference in the state’s Feb. 27 primary. A new NBC NewsWall Street JournalMarist poll shows Clinton with 64 percent of South Carolina’s likely Democratic votes, while her rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, has 27 percent. Clinton leads in all demographics, but her 74-17 advantage among South Carolina’s Black voters explains her overall 37-point margin. Sanders isn’t conceding. Across town, teams of his staffers are going door-todoor in predominantly Black neighborhoods. The senator has visited college campuses with mostly African American student bodies. African American radio stations are filled with ads touting his record on civil rights and his promise to overhaul a criminal justice system that he says disproportionately targets Black men. Both campaigns acknowledge that South Carolina could be crucial in shaping the fight for the Democratic nomination. Even if Sanders builds momentum with wins in the overwhelmingly White states of Iowa and New Hampshire, that lead could evaporate quickly if he can’t attract more Black voters in South Carolina and the bulk of Southern states voting in March. This is Clinton’s firewall, and Sanders’ campaign is trying to break it down. Sanders offers “many ideas that appeal across the spectrum,” says South Carolina Democratic Chairman Jaime Harrison, who is Black. Harrison notes the senator’s emphasis on economic inequality and systemic racism. “But he has to make that real to African American voters on the ground,” Harrison says. “For most folks, Wall Street is as foreign as Moscow.” Clinton has recently pegged Sanders as unwilling to take on gun violence given his occasional voting record against Democrats on gun regulation. It’s an issue that resonates among Black voters following the April shooting of Walter Scott, an unarmed Black man killed by a White police officer in North Charleston,
and the June massacre of nine people by a White gunman at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. “That’s as real as it gets to people here,” Harrison said. Bryanta Maxwell, the 31-year-old president of Young Democrats in South Carolina, said she’s aware of Sanders’ gun votes, but supports him because of his emphasis on ending mass incarceration and curbing police violence. “I read and I researched, and I said, you know, this resonates with me as the mother a young Black boy,” she said. Maxwell expressed frustration over Clinton’s criticism of Sanders on guns and health care. Besides panning Sanders’ universal health care pitch as politically impossible, Clinton frames it as disloyal to Obama. “Whoever succeeds President Obama is going to do something to the Affordable Care Act, change it, tweak it, improve it, repeal it, and she knows that,” Maxwell said. Yet Clinton’s argument may have taken root. “It seems to me that he wants to almost scrap the whole ACA, and where is that going to leave people?” wonders Maryann Wright, 62, a retired teacher who is Black. “What we need to do is stay the course and do some tweaking.” Clinton, meanwhile, plays up her associations in the Black community, often traced to her husband’s successful presidential bid in 1992, sometimes earlier, and extending to her relationship with Obama. Sanders notes that he attended the 1963 March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, but Clinton calls local Black leaders by name at many of her stops, often recalling some past work they’ve done together. “She’s a brand; he isn’t,” Maxwell said. “He has to figure out a way to set himself apart.” Clinton has had paid staff on the ground in South Carolina since last spring, led by her state director, Clay Middleton, an African American alumnus of The Citadel, the military college in Charleston. Sanders more than matches her staffing levels now, but only after a recent buildup—and his top paid leaders come from outside the state. Clinton’s campaign “is younger, more vibrant,” said Bakari Sellers, a former state lawmaker who backed Obama in 2008 and now campaigns for Clinton. “It’s in the churches. It’s out in the streets.” Clinton’s list of endorsements is long, and she’s using outside surrogates to tap into existing black organizations. Last weekend, Alexis Herman, a former Cabinet member for Bill Clinton, addressed a South Carolina state alumni meeting of her college sorority. “That reaches all ages in the Black community with one of their own,” Maxwell, the Sanders supporter, acknowledged. Sanders this week picked up a noteworthy
WASHINGTON (AP)—A survey finds minorities hold only 14 percent of state lawmakers’ seats, even though minorities make up 40 percent of the United States population. This comes from the New American Leaders Project, which released its study of 2015 officeholders on Monday. Black politicians held around 9 percent of the seats, Latino and Latina
politicians held about 4 percent of the seats and Asian American politicians held about 2 percent. Native American officeholders numbered less than 1 percent. The president and founder of the New American Leaders Project says there should be more effort toward recruiting minority candidates to run for office and supporting them once they make the leap into politics.
Associated Press Writer
Survey: Minorities make up 14 percent of state lawmakers
GETTING HEATED—Bernie Sanders, left, and Hillary Clinton speak during an exchange at the Democratic presidential primary debate, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015, at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole) flip from the Clinton camp, winning an endorsement from state Rep. Justin Bamberg, a lawyer who represents the Walter
Scott family. Whether Sanders gains ground depends on whether more Black South Carolinians take Bamberg’s approach.
“From the beginning, as is the case for many Americans, I did not give Sen. Sanders a fair shake,” Bamberg said. He
switched sides, he said, after “paying close attention.” (Associated Press Writer Meg Kinnard contributed.)
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Black & White Reunion holds 18th Annual Summit Against Racism CONTINUED FROM A1
our individual and collective engines for civil rights and human rights activities,” said Stevens. One of the 500 participants was Renae Green, who thinks these summits are important because many things that seem like common sense and knowledge to some, are little known to others. “If everyone is engaging in the workshops and understanding what racism is and sexism is and seeing how all of these things divide us, maybe they can leave with an attitude to stand up to see what is wrong,” she said. She liked the diversity of races present this year. “I think it’s going to bring issues to the forefront when you have a diverse group, a lot of people are able to give their input and it’s not just one sided; where if it was just for people of color I don’t think the issues would be brought forth to the people that are oppressing us as people of color.” Andrea Joseph, a doctoral student in social work at the University of Pittsburgh, also loved the diversity presentation. “[It’s] Great to be at a session on racism where it’s not only Black people, it’s people who are here to be allies. “People need to see that visual representation of different races in the room that are concerned about the issue. The strength was not only that there were great speakers but you didn’t have to have a particular position or title to speak up at this group.” Sometimes, malaise sets in with summits and rallies that don’t translate into measurables. Stevens emphatically rejects that notion will be the case here, especially when it comes to feedback on violence against women and girls and violence against LGBT people. “There were a lot of suggestions that will go into a revised document under the greater Pittsburgh Coalition Against Violence. Several action items as well as strategies,” he said. When asked if the comm u n i t y would be heard by those at the top Stevens replied, “The mayor sat and talked with the kids for several minutes on camera on their concerns and they were RENAE GREEN speaks in the really pasworkshop sionate.
T h e y brought up serious issues such as g e n t r i fi c a tion, education, about just the commitment of the mayor and the city to people of color.” Joseph also wants to see real change. She said she went to sessions on community policing, and a session addressing women’s issues both TIM STEVENS speaks in a n a t i o n a l l y workshop and asks questions and interna- on a few subjects. (Photos by J. L. Martello) tionally. She said when it comes to making legislative change, “We need to be more explicit in our policies, what are the actionable steps we want to see here in Pittsburgh nationally and internationally? So we looked at policies in the U.N.” As a Ph.D. student, policy and procedure are common studies for Joseph, still she came away appreciating the human element to learning as well. “I’m typically in an academic environment which is very important as this is where we get the depths of theory and we get to measure outcomes but here I got to hear the voices of the community so I know the heartbeat of what’s truly going on in their everyday experiences,” she said. Although Pittsburgh remains primarily Black and White, the summit is not just for Black people and White people and this year the summit opened with kids from East Liberty Presbyterian Church singing “Glory” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” among other selections. The event was only supposed to last until 3:30 p.m. but uncannily, after 6 p.m. people were still staying and talking. Charity also ruled the day as the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary provided the venue free of charge and gave a financial donation. The Black & White Reunion also able awarded scholarships to African American law students. And for the first time, a community based fellowship was awarded to the APA (Association for Police Accountability) from the Jonny Gammage Scholarship Fund. (J.L. Martello also contributed to this article)
Council weighs next step on wage report CONTINUED FROM A1
codes, public health and safety.” Reverend Burgess cited previous threats by the city to levy a tuition tax on colleges and a bed tax on hospitals. He noted that the city previously challenged the University of Pittsburgh’s tax-exempt status in court. Mayor Bill Peduto withdrew that lawsuit last year, and the other past threats he noted have never gone forward. Councilwoman Darlene Harris said perhaps the lawsuit should be refiled. “We had a lawsuit against UPMC as the city, and I don’t know what’s hap-
pened. I understand from the papers that the mayor has dropped that lawsuit, and I think that was really a strength that we had,” said Harris. “So what could we do? We could follow through with the lawsuit we started with.” Though such efforts have failed in the past, Duquesne University Law Professor Nicholas Cafardi said there is an argument to be made for UPMC, the region’s largest employer, to lose its tax-exempt status. “Some, myself included, that would say that any charity that bonuses its executives out of excess revenues has conferred a pri-
vate benefit,” Cafardi said, referring to bonuses given UPMC top executives. “One major healthcare organization in Pittsburgh has a long history of bonusing its top executives.” The bottom line, said Rev. Burgess, is that UPMC makes billions but won’t pay its employees sustainable wages or offer affordable health care. “There are various levers that the city has in order to encourage hospital behavior,” he said. “We will explore legislation and other ways of advocating those positions.” (Send comments to cmorrow@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
Free tax prep and filing help CONTINUED FROM A1
gross incomes of $62,000 or less can file electronically for free. This year, as part of a national effort by states to combat stolen-identity tax fraud, software programs are asking tax filers to voluntarily provide a driver’s license number or state-issued identification card number with the filing of a return. Providing this information gives the Department of Revenue an extra security measure to help make sure tax refunds reach the proper filer. This is strictly voluntary, and returns submitted without the number will not be rejected. And for those who want to file electronically, but would prefer getting assistance from an actual human being, the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, in partnership with the Money In Your Pocket Coalition, is offering free, in-person tax preparation services as part of its PA 21-1 campaign. “This campaign helps change the lives of so many hard-working individuals and families in our community,” said Angela Reynolds, United Way’s Director of PA 2-11 Southwest and Helping Families Thrive. “Our IRS-certified volunteer tax preparers help them secure the tax credits and refunds they have earned. This is money that can help people meet basic needs, from an unexpected bill, to maintaining reliable transportation, to putting food on the table.” Appointments for free tax preparation can be made by dialing 2-1-1 or visiting www.pa211sw.org, the free 24-hour human services helpline powered by United Way.
The 2-1-1 resource navigators will schedule free tax preparation appointments for four counties (Allegheny, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland) and make service referrals for Fayette and Lawrence counties, which are also part of the coalition. 21-1 will serve as a resource for free tax preparation assistance for 11 counties throughout Southwestern PA. Because the goal is to see that everyone who needs help and is eligible gets help, even if that help is found using 2-1-1, callers may be directed to make an appointment with a different site outside of the MIYP coalition. In Pittsburgh, callers to 2-1-1 would likely be referred to Just Harvest, the hunger and anti-poverty advocacy agency—with four sites of its own in Allegheny County—that is now beginning its 13th year providing free tax services. Last year, Just Harvest’s 117 volunteers donated more than 5,900 hours providing tax services. That resulted in the completion of more than 2,700 returns, yielding refunds totaling more than $5.7 million for low-income families! Of that, more than $2.9 million came from the Earned Income Tax Credit and nearly $1.8 million came from Child Care Tax Credits. To schedule an appointment, either call 2-11, or contact Just Harvest directly at 1-888553-5778. Individuals with incomes of $25,000 or less and families with incomes of $45,000 may be eligible for their free services. (Send comments row@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
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SERVING THE COMMUNITY—From left: Carol Speaks, Shawnee Young, Lana Logan, Kim lowery, Deborah Latham and Wildena Thompson help serve the community. (Photos by J. L. Martello)
Sin City: Feeding community just a start CONTINUED FROM A1
views and ideas and come up with how to make our community better along with eating and enjoying themselves,” he said. Smith said since he joined Sin City, he has seen nothing but positive things come out of it. Recently he got an idea for all business owners in the community: Homewood Bar Association, Denise and Earl’s, The Galaxy, Triangle Beer, Shuman’s, Perry’s Market Dana’s Bakery, Rose’s Bar and many others to contribute to a community day. Smith only had two weeks to get it together. Through that, they raised about $500. According to Smith, the goal was to feed 150 people, which they did successfully. Rigatoni, fried chicken, salad, baked ham, macaroni and cheese, green beans, cakes and pies, but no alcohol. It wasn’t just for homeless people it was for the community and people down on their luck. Cedric Brookins, a local man in attendance, said he was thankful to have the meal. “You don’t have no other club in the community doing this. I commend them for that.” Steven Tavon, another local man, self-described as down on his luck said, “It gives me a different perspective of a motor club. I don’t know all of them personally but I know if I ever need something they look out and say here. That means a lot to me; especially as a poor man,” he said laughing. Lana Logan joined Sin City early last year and shares Smiths vision of bringing back the positive image to bike clubs. “It saddens me to see that we have people here that are less fortunate as far as housing, food, so forth. If we can show them they are still cared about through food or other means, so be it. We are all trying to come together to do a community watch,” she said, as she pivoted to the issue of the culture that makes a community watch necessary at all. “Again, we need more of the positive image as opposed to this negative hardcore image. We need to soften that up some for them to understand that there is a better way out. It doesn’t have to be this violent shooting and so many loss of lives and today’s world we are living in is pretty
REGINALD SMITH, aka“Big Pimpin,” a member of Sin City. rough for young and old.” Smith, Logan and the rest of Sin City want people to know that they aren’t just Harley riders but when you see them, recognize they are bus drivers, sanitation engineers, teachers, secretaries, and police officers. “Of course you’re going to have a bad seed in the apple but for the most part it’s a positive thing and unity and leadership that the community needs,” said Smith who also wants to meet with local politicians and the police chief to further bring all elements of the community together. Smith ensures “Our mission is to have more functions like this and we are starting drives for breast [cancer] awareness. Giving clothes back like coats and shoes, toy drives, we’re going to give to our community, we are going to show our Black people that we do care there are positive people and this is the first step. Since this turned out good there will be more.”
Peduto laments ‘two Pittsburghs’ CONTINUED FROM A1
past and only growing the gap between the two Pittsburghs even more.” While he recounted efforts made over the last year including: •Writing with Allegheny County a My Brother’s Keeper program to provide more opportunities to boys and young men of color, which the White House has called one of the best such programs nationwide; •Starting a Public Safety Career program at Westinghouse High School will let Pittsburgh Public School students discover vocations in public service, and increase the diversity of our ranks; •Being named as only one of six National Initiative to Improve Community Trust communities, which will help improve police-community relations with training and engagement to reduce racial bias in police response; •Tripling the size of our summer youth employment program to provide new opportunities for kids living in our neighborhoods; and •Fighting for $15 an hour wages and leading with our city workforce, we are raising the standard of living for residents citywide, he said there was still much to do. And to that end, he was pleased to announce the city had just been chosen to participate in the National League of Cities Financial Inclusion Systems and City Leadership initiative, which will help the City develop and coordinate efforts that promote the financial inclusion of residents. “We want to connect more families to economic opportunity in Pittsburgh, and this project helps us help our families to build systems of inclusion and financial capabilities,” he said. “We are thrilled to be a part of this opportunity and are grateful for the partnerships that will help make this effort successful.” LaTrenda Leonard Sherrill, the city’s deputy chief of Operations and Administration, said she will work with partners Neighborhood Allies, Neighborworks, the United Way and BankOn to write a grant proposal for funding. “It requires a narrow focus, which is good,” she said. “We have to outline our
(J.L. Martello also contributed to this article.)
biggest challenge to financial inclusion, our limitations, and how the grant funding can address them. We should know if we’ve been successful by early summer.” And though he couldn’t discuss it until the following day, as soon as he could, Peduto unveiled a deal to make sure the Crawford Square development overlooking the former Civic Arena site in the Hill District maintains affordable units for the next 30 years. He had been working on the deal since November when he learned the covenants governing the property were due to expire this year, meaning 143 of the 188 units originally designated for low-income families could convert to market rate. Thanks to assistance from the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, owners McCormack Baron Salazar and AIG will preserve those affordable units. To seal the deal, the URA agreed to restructure $14 million in debt associated with the property, the Housing Authority agreed to put $6 million into the property and commit between 40 and 60 Section 8 vouchers to allow for even deeper levels of rent subsidy, and PHFA agreed to restructure its financing and back new low-income tax credits for the property. The deal to ensure long-term affordability at Crawford Square comes as the City, the Housing Authority, the URA and others—including the City’s Affordable Housing Task Force—are working together to preserve housing options for Pittsburgh residents in neighborhoods citywide. “HACP currently has more than 8,500 individuals and families on our waiting lists for public housing and housing choice vouchers,” said Housing Authority Executive Director Castor D. Binion. “We will continue to look for opportunities to leverage available resources and take advantage of new, efficient and innovative methods to address the city’s growing need for safe, affordable housing.” (Send comments row@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
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FEBRUARY 3-9, 2016
METRO
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10 of 11 homicides Black—We need to teach value of life early CONTINUED FROM A1
Recently, the Black Political Empowerment Project and the Coalition Against Violence, along with other organizations, such as New Voices Pittsburgh, Voices Against Violence and others, held a press conference to speak about violence against women and girls. They touched on the need to have conversations with boys and young men about the value of women and life. I commend these organizations for one, seeing the need and urgency in addressing this issue, and two, making it a collaborative effort. We, as a community, need to instill the value of life in our youth, especially young males, early so that when they grow up it will already be ingrained. They need to learn that just because you do not like something someone says, does, or even wears, it is not an excuse to resort to pulling out a gun. Then, maybe, just maybe, people will think before they pull the trigger and
Employee finds noose CONTINUED FROM A1
bathroom walls and left up for weeks at a time before they were removed. It is unknown if the noose was tied by an employee or a customer. According to reports, this is just one of several Home Depot locations around the country where an incident like this has occurred.
some of the senseless Black on Black violence will end. As part of an ongoing effort to heighten awareness about the effects of murder in Black communities, the New Pittsburgh Courier will compile a list of homicides in the County each month. It is our hope that as the list of victims grows, so will a true understanding of how these lost lives affect the mental health, economic well being and self-images of the region’s Black neighborhoods. Out of the 11 murders, thus far, in 2016—10 were Black and nine were Black men. January Homicides JAN. 10—Damion Graham, a 39-year-old Black male from the North Side, was fatally shot during a domestic altercation at a home on Forest Avenue in Bellevue. He was pronounced dead at the scene. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing. JAN. 10—Chauncey Howard, a 25-year-old Black male from the North Side, was found fatally shot inside of a vehicle that had crashed into a pole in the 3100 block of Universal Street in Sheraden. He was found by officers who were responding to a call of shots fired in a block nearby. Howard was pronounced dead at the scene. Tremond Allston and Charles Williams have been charged with criminal homicide, criminal conspiracy, carrying a firearm without a license and more. JAN. 15—Martell Benton-Bridgett, an 18-yearold Black male from McKees Rocks, was found at the Holiday Inn Express, in the 800 block of Greentree Road, in Greentree, with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to a local hospital where he later died. It
Community Calendar Open House FEB. 8—Pittsburgh Community Television (PCTV 21) will host an Open House from 6-8 p.m. at 1300 Western Ave., North Shore Attendees will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with PCTV staff and community producers; tour the newly renovated studio; find out how to become a producer; and how one’s organization can benefit from PCTV’s professional production services. There will be refreshments and appetizers served. For more information, call 412-322-7570.
Black Veterans Celebration FEB. 13—Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum Trust Inc. will host the 6th Annual African-American Heritage Celebration “Black Veterans with Success: Their History and Commitment to Excellence” at 1 p.m. at Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum, Gettysburg Room, 4141 Fifth Ave., Oakland. The afternoon will feature guest panelists who will exemplify ways that success can be achieved as they share their stories. All military and veterans are encouraged to attend. This event is free to the public. For more information, call 412-621-4253.
Transit Fare Proposal Hearing FEB. 24—Port Authority of Allegheny County will host a Public Hearing on its Transit Fare Proposal from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Omni William Penn Hotel, 530 William Penn Place, Downtown. The board is considering a policy that would replace the current multi-zone system with a single zone that would cost all riders $2.50 with a ConnectCard, regardless of their destination; eliminate the free Downtown zone; instate a 25 cent surcharge for riders paying with cash; and more. The hearing will also take place from 3:300-6 p.m. and on March 8 at Alumni Hall in Oakland. Speakers are required to register. For more information, call 412-566-5187.
Symposium/Gala FEB. 25—Stop the Violence-Pittsburgh will host Pittsburgh’s Black Honors Symposium & Gala at 7 p.m. at the Carnegie Music Hall, 4400 Forbes Ave., Oakland.
This event will honor a few of the African Americans who have made contributions to the Pittsburgh community since 1755. The evening’s honorees are Alma Speed Fox, retired Judge J. Warren Watson, Mark Brentley, Roger Humphries, Rev. Victor Grigsby, Ralph Proctor, Valerie McDonald Roberts and Bishop Loran Mann. Reservations are required. For more information, email bmarshallproductions@yahoo.com.
Painting with a Purpose FEB. 26—Naomi’s Place Housing Inc. will host Painting with a Purpose from 7-9 p.m. at Painting with a Twist, 2525 Monroeville Blvd., Monroeville. Reservations are required. For more information, visit www.paintingwithatwist.com.
Celebration Dinner FEB. 27—Classic Events! will host its 5th Annual Black History Celebration Dinner at 5 p.m. at Hosanna House, 807 Wallace Ave., Wilkinsburg. The dinner with the theme, “Salute to the Black Church,” highlights the historical and significant contributions the Black church holds within the community. There will also be a tribute to those who lost their lives in the Emanuel AME Church shooting in South Carolina. For more information, call Ralph Watson at 412-7232414 or email yourclassicevent@gmail.com.
Black Arts Grant Application Deadline ONGOING—The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments are accepting applications for its Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh grant. Applications must be submitted by Feb. 29. This grant program is designed to help build the careers of individual artists; increase the sustainability of cultural organizations that focus on Black art; build community awareness; and more. Guidelines are available online. For more information, call Nicole Henninger at 412394-2617. (To have items listed on Community Calendar, send information at least two weeks in advance to: 315 E. Carson St., Pittsburgh, PA 15219; Fax: 412-481-1360 or email: newsroom@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
has been reported that he had been at a party at the hotel when he was shot. No one had been charged; the investigation is ongoing. JAN. 19—Shawn Cavender, a 39-year-old Black male from Pittsburgh, was found with multiple gunshot wounds to his lower extremities in a home in the 100 block of Southern Avenue in Mt. Washington. He was taken to UPMC Mercy Hospital where he later died. Reportedly, he had gotten into an argument with another male who fled the scene. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing. JAN. 19—Raymond O’Neal, a 17-year-old Black male from Penn Hills, was shot and killed at a home in the 8900 block of Upland Terrace in Penn Hills. It is believed that O’Neal was shot during a confrontation. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing. JAN. 20—Dante Dawkins, a 29-year-old Black male from Clairton, was shot to death in the 400 block of Windgap Avenue, in Windgap Industrial Park, which is in the
Windgap/Esplen area. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Divine Barrett was also found dead at the scene; one was found in a nearby vehicle and the other was lying in the street. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing. (The Office of the Medical Examiner of Allegheny County has Dawkins’ age listed as 39, but other reports and an obituary listed him as 29.) JAN. 20—Divine Barrett, a 24-year-old Black male from New Jersey, was shot to death in the 400 block of Windgap Avenue, in Windgap Industrial Park, which is in the Windgap/Esplen area. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Dante Dawkins was also found dead at the scene; one was found in a nearby vehicle and the other was lying in the street. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing. JAN. 21—Bronson Waite, a 23-year-old White male from Brighton Heights, was found shot to death in the torso at a residence in the 3900 block of
Vinceton Street in Perry North. He was pronounced dead at the scene. It has been reported that a robbery and the shooting may have taken place the previous day. Daron Clark has been charged with criminal homicide, burglary, robbery, criminal conspiracy, receiving stolen property and possession of a firearm with an altered manufacture number. JAN. 22—Janese Jackson Talton, a 29-year-old Black female from Penn Hills, was found fatally shot outside of Cliff’s Bar, located at North Lang Avenue in Homewood, by officers who were responding to a ShotSpotter notification. She was pronounced dead at the scene. According to reports, Talton was allegedly shot by Charles McKinney after rejecting his advances. McKinney is charged with criminal homicide, aggravated assault, carrying a firearm without a license, fleeing or attempting to elude police, possession with intent to deliver, recklessly endangering another person and reckless driving. JAN. 30—Eric Johnson,
a 24-year-old Black male from McKeesport, was fatally shot in the area of Fern Alley, in McKeesport, while sitting in a vehicle with another male. Johnson died at the scene; the other male was taken to a local hospital. No one has been charged; the investigation is ongoing. JAN. 31—Bruce Kelley Jr., a 37-year-old Black male from Pittsburgh, was shot and killed by Port Authority Police after an altercation. According to reports, Kelley and his father were found drinking alcohol at a Wilkinsburg shelter near the East Busway when officers initially encountered them. An altercation broke out and the two fled. After finding the two again and Kelley allegedly refusing orders to put down a knife, officers Tased him. When that did not work, they released their K-9, Aren, and Kelley stabbed him. Officers then shot and killed Kelley. He died of multiple gunshot wounds to the trunk and extremities. Aren also died. The incident is under investigation by Allegheny County Police.
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FEBRUARY 3-9, 2016
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
OPINION
Just us
Guest Editorial
Callous disregard for Flint citizens Would the Flint toxic water crisis have happened in a wealthier, whiter community? Would officials have been so callous and cavalier if the citizens affected were not predominately poor and African American? We don’t think so. High levels of lead have been detected in the water supply of the poverty-stricken, Black-majority city of Flint, Mich. The impoverished city’s water has been contaminated since officials switched from the Detroit municipal system and began drawing from the Flint River as a cost-saving measure in April 2014. Faced with rising costs, Flint’s former Emergency Manager Darnell Earley, a Democrat, switched the water supply from Detroit, which gets its water supply from the Great Lakes, to the contaminated Flint River. Reports show that some children’s blood has tested positive for lead which is linked to learning disabilities, lower IQ and behavioral problems. Michigan officials said they still aren’t certain whether there’s a link between the drinking water crisis in Flint and an increase in local cases of Legionnaires’ Disease. A report by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says nine people died of the bacterial illness between June 2014 and October 2015 in Genesee County, which includes Flint. Earlier this month 10 fatal cases were reported. The number was changed after they found some deaths weren’t considered to have been caused by Legionnaires, say officials. Officials say 87 Legionnaires’ Disease cases were confirmed between June 2014 and November 2015. About one-third of the infected people’s homes received Flint water, which was found to have elevated lead levels after the city began drawing from the Flint River. Much of the blame for the Flint water crisis can be placed on Michigan Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and state officials, particularly the Department of Environmental Quality and the EPA’s regional office and local Democrats for not acting more forcefully. Last week the EPA announced that Susan Hedman, head of the agency’s regional office in Chicago whose jurisdiction includes Michigan, was stepping down Feb. 1 so it could focus “solely on the restoration of Flint’s drinking water.” The state notified EPA officials in April 2015 that Flint was not treating the river water with additives to prevent corrosion from pipes. It says Hedman and others in the regional EPA office voiced concern to state and city officials over the next few months. But it wasn’t until Oct. 16 that EPA established a task force to provide technical help—the day Flint switched back to the Detroit water system. Hedman is not the only official that needs to resign; many others also need to step down starting with Gov. Snyder. Nearly 300 pages of emails show that Snyder’s administration was initially dismissive of the water crisis. Residents complained for months about the water’s foul odor, odd color and adverse health effects before state officials conceded that the tap water was contaminated with lead. All levels of government failed the people of Flint. Officials acted in a way that showed a callous disregard for the health and safety for the people of Flint. Apologies, even resignations, are not enough. Those responsible should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. (Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)
Pittsburgh Courier NEW
Founded 1910
Rod Doss
Editor & Publisher Stephan A. Broadus Assistant to the Publisher
Allison Palm
Eric Gaines
Office Manager
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Ulish Carter
Ashley Johnson Associate Editor
Managing Editor
Jeff Marion Circulation Consultant
John H. Sengstacke Editor & Publisher Emeritus (1912-1997)
Just Us…was a phrase Richard Pryor came up with when talking about a Criminal Justice System in America loaded with Blacks. But we can also use this term when talking about murders in America, or the nicer wording, homicides. The Pittsburgh Courier has been focusing on this issue of Black on Black murders for a number of years, it finally seems like some of the White media, and even some of the Black media, and others in power are beginning to take notice and pick it up. The last two weeks Public Source did a very in-depth two part series on Black on Black homicides in Pittsburgh and the high number of unsolved Black murders. There was nothing revealed in this series that we didn’t already know, and have covered before, but it was interesting to see it from another source. One of the points they made was that the violence was in pockets. A low income Black community could be right next to a middle income White or mixed community and the violence will be basically concentrated in the Black communities. Many say the reason Blacks are selling drugs is because the doors of businesses are closed to them. Then my question is if they are making so much money in dealing drugs, why don’t we see this in the improvement of our communities in the building of new homes, new businesses? No, instead we see more blighted vacant lots, more blighted run down houses, with practically no businesses. And what is it about selling drugs that make human life so cheap? These young men are blowing each other away at record pace. Which leads me to the next issue they raised, the high rate of unsolved murders in the Black community. Why? Is it that the police and other authorities in the criminal justice system, being Whites living in the suburbs just don’t care because it really don’t affect them? Yes, that’s
cruit you to join the group. If you say no then to some you become a threat. What does the young man do? Can he talk to his mother, father, school, church? Where does he go for help? So either he joins, becomes a victim, or lives in fear. This is an avenue most of us don’t understand. Even if he went to the police, what can they do? No crime has been committed. part of it. But the main issue is reAs I have stated many times betaliations. fore, this is not a Pittsburgh probLets be for real. Even the mothers lem. It’s a national problem. And it’s are admitting to it. The majority of not a recent problem it has been these young males are involved in with us since the 1960s and ‘70s. drug trafficking. And for some reaThe Black communities throughout son, unlike other businesses, it’s a this country have been killing fields life or death situation in which they still none of our leaders are taking solve their differences, or eliminate the lead at identifying it and trying their competition, with the gun. The to do something to eliminate it, police don’t like to call them gangs, which means it will be with us for so I will call them drug groups. years to come. And until we do If Bill and his group decide to sell something about it our communities drugs in John’s territory, and John will not move forward because the kills Bill, Bill’s group is not going to cream of our young Black males are the police and tell them that “we either being killed, sent to prison, or were selling illegal drugs in John’s living in fear. Not being allowed to territory and Bill was shot for it.” Or think beyond that small narrow box vice versa. No, Bill’s boys are going they are entrapped in, in their comto retaliate against John and his munity. group by either killing him, or one Mentoring programs is one way to of his boys, or at least try. So nohelp these young males realize body’s talking to police. there are opportunities for them This leads to a Wild, Wild, West outside of their communities by kind of situation in the Black comshowing them, men and women, munity. Not only are a lot of young who have moved out of the box they males involved in drug trafficking were born in. And it doesn’t necesbeing gunned down, but also their sarily mean moving out of the Black family and friends are becoming vic- community. There are many suctims because they are with them at cessful people still living in the the wrong time or place when the Black community. other side retaliates. But these mentoring groups must Recruitment is another big probbe set up by social organizations, lem in the Black communities. Just schools and the church. The church like a sports team is only as strong is made up of so many different peoas its members, so is a gang. Oh, I’m ple in so many different careers and sorry, group. If an individual is economic levels it would be an ideal going to sell drugs in a community, place to mix bible study with life then he must build a support team, studies. Isn’t the bible all about how to keep someone from simply stepto live your life outside of the church ping in and taking his drugs and walls as a Christian? If we did more money, or gunning him down on the of this it would translate into fewer streets for selling drugs, he also of our young males laying on slabs need look outs for rival groups, or at the morgue or setting in prison the police. cells. (Ulish Carter is the managing editor of the Well if you live in the community New Pittsburgh Courier.) or that block, they are going to re-
Ulish Carter
Just Sayin’
The killers don’t care Residents and law enforcement must continue work to break the cycle of violence in city neighborhoods The killers don’t care. They don’t care about our tears; they don’t care about our pleas and exhortations. They don’t care about marches, protests, prayers, peace vigils or editorials. They don’t care about you. But we, as a community, as mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, friends and colleagues, we MUST CARE! To do less, to become numb to the senseless violence, to throw our hands up and say “what’s the use,” makes us almost as crass and unfeeling as the misguided, heartless individuals who continue to prey on our community. Myself, and so many others, have written about these senseless tragedies so many times. That’s what crossed my mind as I stood in a crowd of mourners gathered a little over month ago at the east side site where Anthony Tolson, a 33-year-old musician and aspiring minister, was carjacked and killed on Christmas Eve. It was heartbreaking as family and friends recalled what Tolson, a father of three young children, meant to so many. His SUV, since recovered after it was burned, was filled with Christmas presents for his kids. Of course the callous men who waylaid him, who have now been arrested by police, couldn’t have cared less. I recognized some of the same faces and people who have been on the battlefield in this fight against neighborhood crime for years, Minister Malik Shabazz, Barry Ross, Keith Bennett, Teferi Brent and so many others. Candles were lit. Prayers were said. Rev. David Bullock hit the right themes, calling for prayers for the family and, yes, even prayers for the killers and that justice be done. But he also called for this, which some may view as politically incorrect. While supporting the “Black Lives Matter,” movement, he called for some of that fire, fervor and passion to be put into the effort to address the toll of African Americans killing African Americans. The issues are not mutually exclusive but connected and we should have as much outrage at community homicides as we do at unjust homicides by law enforcement. Shouts came from the crowd. “This has got to stop!” “Enough is enough!” “We’ve got to do something!” “It’s time to step up!” And even as I still reflected, there were fresh news reports of a sevenyear old girl, shot and killed as a result of a dispute between feuding adults. A few weeks earlier a 91year-old man was beaten and killed
Luther Keith
Commentary in his home and a 17-year-old neighbor was charged with his murder. Then there was the veteran Detroit firefighter found murdered in his home. We can’t take solace in the fact that overall crime is down in Detroit in the past year. For all we have done, as I have written in the past, we have do more and we have to do better. We have been hard at work at this with Detroit Police working with federal authorities, including the Detroit One initiative out of the Detroit U.S. Attorney’s office. The newly reenergized Detroit Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, headed by Andrew McCarthy, has been putting a coalition of church groups together along with scores of other faith-based efforts, including Neighborhood Peace Walks supported by Black Family Development. Bishop Edgar Vann of Second Ebenezer Church is also mobilizing local pastors in a renewed effort to attack neighborhood crime. As I have often said, outrage is not enough. We have to organize, create more block clubs, more neighborhood patrols, more safety zones for our children. As has been said before, we need to get illegal guns off the street, bust the drug houses, continue to board up and tear down blighted homes and buildings that are breeding grounds for crime. But that is not enough. As a society, we must do more to reject the glorification of violence,
shootings and terror in all of its forms, a glorification that thrives on money made from movies, television, video games or on the internet. Sometimes I think all of this, by some, is nothing more than Crocodile tears. Deploring violence on one hand, while happily collecting any money that comes along with its promotion. And some of us are part of this scenario because we happily patronize the violence as long as it entertains us. Changing the culture of violence cannot be done by one organization, one pastor, one church, or one politician. We all need to be part of the solution. The bad guys need to know there is no community refuge for them, no safe haven in a “no snitch” culture. I don’t have a problem with snitching, telling, manipulating or embarrassing if it will save lives. There are too many wonderful people, too many great things, too many inspiring things about Detroit to let our attempts at revitalization be thwarted by miscreants who have no values. Yes, there is plenty of economic distress in our neighborhoods and we do need more jobs and more opportunity. But that is not an excuse for taking the life of Anthony Tolson or anyone else. So let’s continue to reach out to our brothers and sisters, to connect with programs and people, to look out for our children and our senior citizens. No, it won’t be easy and there is no guarantee bad things won’t happen at times. But giving up is not an option. So all you gangstas, carjackers, and home invaders sleep lightly. We, as a community, are coming after you. YOU CAN NOT WIN! We won’t let you. (Luther Keith is executive director of ARISE Detroit!, a nonprofit coalition of more than 400 organizations promoting volunteerism, community activism and positive media images to create a better Detroit.)
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 email to letters@newpittsburghcourier.com.
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
Flint, Michigan residents mistreated because of race and class (GEORGE CURRY MEDIA)—Let’s face it: Contaminated water would not have flowed through the pipes of Flint, Mich.—certainly not for as long as it did—if the residents of the city of nearly 100,000 had been White and affluent instead of Black and largely poor. In fact, if two-term Republican Gov. Rick Snyder had dreamed of that happening in Bloomfield Hills, he would have called a press conference the next morning to apologize for having such a nightmare. But Flint is not Bloomfield Hills. According to 2014 Census Bureau figures, Flint is predominantly Black (56.6 percent), has a poverty rate of 41.5 percent, which is nearly three times the national figure, and a median family income of $24,834. On the other hand, Bloomfield Hills, which is 90 percent White and only 3.2 percent African American, has a poverty rate of only 2 percent, an estimated median family income of $151,596, and the medium house or condo is valued at $670,823 — about 23 times the value of the average home ($29,000) in Flint, according to citydata.com. Whether a family drinks or bathes in lead-contaminated water should not be determined by their race or income. Black and poor lives should matter as much as White and rich ones. Because that wasn’t the case in Flint, children were exposed to unacceptably high levels of lead poisoning, which could lead to brain damage, learning disabilities and behavioral problems. Everyone responsible for this fiasco should lose their job, be criminally prosecuted and if found guilty, serve time in prison and pay restitution. Fortunately, the eyes of the nation are fixed on Michigan to see if justice will prevail. The National Bar Association, under the leadership of
George E. Curry
Commentary President Benjamin L. Crump, was scheduled to hold a town hall meeting on the water crisis Monday in Flint with its local and state counterparts. Congressional hearings were scheduled for this Wednesday and Rev. Al Sharpton was planning to bring busloads of New Yorkers to monitor the proceedings. Unfortunately, most of our civil rights leaders are doing little beyond holding press conferences and issuing statements about the crisis in Flint. With February a/k/a “Negro Employment Month”—now upon us, they will become even more distant. Meanwhile, we continue to learn new, sordid details about this reprehensible tragedy. From 2011-2015, Flint was in state receivership and went through four emergency managers appointed by the governor. In April 2014, in a move to save money, the state-imposed emergency manager decided to switch Flint’s water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Shortly, after the change, residents began to complain about the water’s taste, color and odor. Stories were written about it in Flint and Detroit newspapers, but residents were repeatedly told they had nothing to fear. The city issued a press release saying, “Flint water is safe to drink.” While city residents were being targeted with that message, state employees were quietly getting another one. As the Detroit Free Press reported, “In January of 2015, when state officials were telling worried Flint residents their water was safe to drink, they also were arranging for coolers of purified water in Flint’s State Office Building so employees wouldn’t have to drink from the taps, according to state government e-mails released Thursday...” State employees were not the only ones receiving special treatment. Writing under the headline, “10 Things They Won’t Tell You about the Flint Water Tragedy,” filmmaker and Flint native Michael Moore stated, “A few months after Governor Snyder removed Flint from the clean fresh water we had been drinking for decades, the brass from General Motors went to him and complained that the Flint River water was causing their car parts to corrode when being washed on the assembly line. The Governor was appalled to hear that GM property was being damaged, so he jumped through a number of hoops and quietly spent $440,000 to hook GM back up to the Lake Huron water, while keeping the rest of Flint on the Flint River water. Which means that while the children in Flint were drinking lead-filled water, there was one—and only one—address in Flint that got clean water: the GM factory.” Last February, Miguel Del Toral, an Environmental Protection Agencyexpert, wrote to one city official, “Given the very high lead levels found at one home and the preflushing happening in Flint, I’m worried that the whole town may have much higher lead levels than the compliance results indicated.” But no one in a position to change this was worried enough to step in. Remember, all of this happened while Flint was operating under state-appointed emergency managers. Like he had done in Detroit, Gov. Snyder appointed emergency managers supposedly because local officials were too inept to handle their own business. But they couldn’t have done any worse than his appointees in this instance. A year ago, Detroit water officials offered to reconnect Flint to Lake Huron and waive the $4 million connection fee. But the emergency manager, Jerry Ambrose, declined the offer and residents of Flint continue to suffer to this day. Someone needs to pay for the state-sponsored serial ineptness. (George E. Curry is President and CEO of George Curry Media, LLC. He is the former editor-in-chief of Emerge magazine and the National NNPA. He can be reached through his Web site, georgecurry.com.)
FORUM
Solutions or preventions to our problems I was in the these penal ingrocery store Louis ‘Hop’ Kendrick stitutions than and a woman on educational walked up and facilities. Evstated that she eryday on the was an avid news there are reader of the politicians and New Pittsmedical proburgh Courier, fessionals, who and then she now rationaladded that her ize the exploand her husband did the best they sion of hard drugs, because it is off could and their son still stumbled, its the chain in the suburbs, but when been difficult. My response was that our sons and daughters were sufferyour problem is one that an unbeliev- ing the only answer was to put the able number of families have encoun- monkeys in jail. On the street where I was born only tered and there does not exist a simple overall answer to these difficul- a few houses had indoor plumbing, ties. A number of parents have too gas, telephones, or electricity. The frequently cried out “where did we go neighborhood was integrated about wrong” and the answer overwhelm- 50 percent White and all of us probably classified as being poor, but none ingly is it is not your fault. Daddy’s words have always res- of us ever perceived ourselves as onated with me, he said, “if you ever being poor. Everyone in the neighborhave a family you will be obligated to hood looked out for each other, none do your absolute best by nurturing went hungry, cold, clothes less, no and caring for them and hopefully eviction for non payment of rent, no preparing them that when they locks on the houses, and every adult reach the fork in the road of life that was addressed as Mr., Mrs., Ms. Rethey will be able to determine if they spect, integrity and love of family was all around us. In the Kendrick want to go right or wrong.” Every day there are calls from gov- home we were raised to understand ernment officials that cry out for that richness was not houses and more money to fight crime and the land, but family, friends, health, but amounts of money are staggering. in today’s environment we too freFunding requests are for the incar- quently have redefined wealth to our ceration rates at every level in county, detriment. state, and federal. Also funding reIt is my absolute conviction that quests for probation officers, parole until those in a positions of not only officers, police departments, half way power, but leadership truly begin to houses, shot detectors, cameras, and act upon rebuilding the family strucrewards. There is definitely some- ture the government will continue to thing wrong when the richest and use incarceration as the major solumost powerful nation in the world tion to many of our social problems. (Louis “Hop” Kendrick is a weekly contribhas the most people incarcerated and spends more money to maintain utor to the Forum page.)
To Tell The Truth
Reparations: What precisely is there to support? Democratic don’t involve p r e s i d e n t i a l J. Pharoah Doss all descencandidate dents of B e r n i e slaves. That’s Sanders was why a Washasked if he was ington Post in favor of columnist “reparations said, “Coates for slavery”. himself has He gave one been vague answer that I’ll about what divide into two parts. kind of reparations he supports.) Part one, “No, I don’t think so. First Now here’s the question for anyone of all, its likelihood of getting through that wants to take the case for repacongress is nil. Second of all, I think rations beyond academic arguments. it would be very divisive.” Is it possible for a politician to oppose This part disappointed Ta-Nehisi reparation for slavery but want to Coates author of The Atlantic article remedy the legacy of discrimination titled: The Case for Reparations: Two whether the policy or program is lahundred fifty years of slavery. Ninety beled reparations or not? Part two of Sanders’s reparation anyears of Jim Crow. Sixty years of separate but equal. Thirty five years of swer was, “The real issue is when we look at the poverty rate among the Afriracist housing policy. I’ll divide Coates’s subtitle into two can American community, when we look at the high unemployment rate parts. within the African American commu1). Slavery 2). Three counts of discriminatory nity, we have a lot of work to do…We should be talking about…Making inpolicy after emancipation Coates believes Sanders’s state- vestments in rebuilding our cities, in ment contradicts the radicalism of creating millions of decent paying jobs, his campaign. Coates wondered how in making public colleges and universiSanders could be pessimistic about ties tuition-free.” Sanders supporters say their camreparations but opportunistic about other policies that would meet the paign promotes race-neutral policies same bipartisan hostility in congress. aimed at reducing inequalities. They That’s a fair observation but there’s also address police shooting, the war on drugs, the minimum wage, and afa fallacy not so obvious. On the surface Coates’s righteous fordable childcare, and Sanders supindignation is aimed at what appears porters believe these investments to be avoidance of the issue because it would overwhelmingly benefit Africould hinder growing support for the can Americans and be similar to Sanders campaign. But behind the reparations. Coates stated these positions “adrighteousness lies admittance that dress Black people not so much as a the cause is unrealistic. Coates’s argument seems to be class specifically injured by White reparations is just as unfeasible as supremacy, but rather, as a group the rest of Sanders’s proposals there- which magically suffers from disprofore Sanders has a moral obligation portionate poverty…This is the class to remain consistent and champion first approach originating in the reparations in a campaign of unfeasi- myth that racism and socialism are necessarily incompatible.” bility. Coates continued, “Reparations is Coates said, “If not even an avowed socialist can be bothered to grapple not one possible tool against White with reparations, if the question re- supremacy. It is the indispensable ally is that far beyond the pale, if tool against White supremacy.” This statement leaves one question: Bernie Sanders truly believes that victims of the Tulsa pogrom deserved If reparations are paid will it end nothing, that the victims of contract White supremacy? If the answer is no. lending deserved nothing, that the Then what precisely is Bernie victims of debt peonage deserve nothing, if this is the candidate of the rad- Sanders suppose to support? But if the answer is yes, then what ical left—then expect White supremacy in America to endure well is the implementation plan? And if the academics don’t have a beyond our lifetimes and lifetimes of plan (Beyond H.R. 40 Commission to our children.” But Sanders said he didn’t support Study Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act) again what is reparations for slavery. Coates didn’t mention slavery in his Bernie Sanders suppose to support? (J. Pharoah Doss is a contributor to the diatribe. (That’s why I divided his subtitle) Coates’s argument was case New Pittsburgh Courier. He blogs at specific. (And these specific cases jpharoahdoss@blogspot.com)
Commentary
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.
FEBRUARY 3-9, 2016
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Jesse Jackson Sr.
Commentary
Flint’s water crisis and the GOP’s class war (GEORGE CURRY MEDIA)—Why did Flint suffer a water catastrophe that now requires that children be treated as if they had been poisoned? It wasn’t because the people were negligent. From the moment Flint began taking its water from the polluted Flint River, residents warned about water that came out of the faucet brown, tasted foul and smelled worse. They began packing public meetings with jugs filled with water that looked like brown stain. It wasn’t because the democracy failed, because in Flint democracy had been suspended. The city, devastated by the closing of its auto plants and industrial base, has been in constant fiscal crisis. Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, one of the crop of proud conservative governors promising to cut taxes for the rich and get government out of the way, appointed an emergency manager to run the city. Elected officials had no say. It wasn’t because the city manager and the state environmental agency and the governor weren’t warned. Warnings were issued from the beginning. General Motors even suspended using the water because it was too corrosive for the auto parts it was making. Nevertheless, city and state officials assured the worried residents of Flint that it was still safe to drink. The result is that Flint’s children—particularly those in the older, poorer, disproportionately Black neighborhoods—have been exposed to elevated levels of lead. Lead poisoning isn’t like contracting a cold or getting the flu. Lead is an immediate and unrelenting threat to health. It causes miscarriages and births of low-weight babies. Children exposed to lead can have disabilities that afflict them for their entire lives. Lead stays in your bones. Yet even after a federal EPA official warned that the tests were being skewed to underreport levels of lead, even after heroes like LeeAnne Walters reported that her children’s hair was falling out and that they were developing rashes and constantly sick, even after the heroic pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, an Iraqi-American, reported elevated levels of lead in children’s blood, their concerns were dismissed, their alarms scorned, they were attacked for sowing hysteria and the poor residents of Flint were told the water was safe to drink. Why were the people and the obvious signs and the experts ignored? They would not have been ignored if these were wealthy suburban neighborhoods and the water suddenly turned brown. They would not have been ignored if the children of an all-White community were at risk. State officials dismissed the complaints as exaggerated. The brown water was just rust. Officials thought people ought to be grateful for what they had. The laws, they wrote, ensure the water is “safe to drink.” It doesn’t regulate how it looks, its “aesthetic values.” The water looks bad because it’s from the “Flint River.” Flint is old and poor. The pipes are old and poor. The people are Black and poor. They just have to learn to put up with it. And if the lead seems to be at dangerous levels, flushing the system before the tests, skewing the sample to the most recently built systems can jigger the results to get by. Some might get hurt, but no one worth caring about. This is the ugly reality of the right-wing assault on America’s working people and particularly on people of color. They want to get “government out of the way”—out of the way of their greed. The successful have earned special treatment—in taxes, in contracts, in interest rates, in public investment. The unsuccessful need to learn self-reliance. They need to accept what they get and be grateful for it. Flint is not a bug in their perspective; it is a feature. They fought against African Americans getting the right to vote. Now they use “emergency” to set up dictators—emergency managers—to occupy predominantly AfricanAmerican communities. They worry that the poor get too much “free stuff”—food stamps (once a Republican program), health care through Medicaid (so they refuse to expand it), unemployment insurance when they lose their jobs (so they limit its coverage), minimum wages (which they fight against) and “costly regulations” that require safe water and clean air and safer workplaces. The “establishment” Republican candidate Jeb Bush has called for a “regulatory spring cleaning” to strip away regulations that protect health and safety. The Republican Congress annually seeks to cut backs EPA’s budgets and authority. The Republican governors gleefully gut the budgets of their own state agencies. They don’t worry. The children of the rich will be protected. It is the poor — of all races but disproportionately people of color—who will be left at greater risk. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder should have the common decency to resign. The state and the federal government should step in and rebuild Flint’s water system immediately. A federal investigation should issue indictments where justified. But this isn’t simply about water and Flint. This is about an ideology that believes in this rich country, the privileges of the few must be protected, even if the necessities of the many are sacrificed. “Of course there is class warfare,” billionaire Warren Buffett once acknowledged, “and my class is winning.” (Jesse L. Jackson Sr. is founder and president of the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition. You can keep up with his work at www.rainbowpush.org)
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FEBRUARY 3-9, 2016
PEOPLE
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
Generation NEXT: Two East Liberty sisters aspire to successful career paths by Renee P. Aldrich For the New Pittsburgh Courier
Sisters Chandel and Cieayrra Boozer, of East Liberty, have some very lofty pursuits when it comes to career choices. Their maturity is underpinned with a quiet dignity and grace. Chandel, 23, and Cieayrra, 21, have stellar educational histories, a reflection of their individual desire for excellence and the tools instilled in them by their mother, Hope Luttrell of East Liberty. “I took a very hard line with them early, was tough and didn’t give much leeway, which often annoyed them,” Luttrell says. “I believe now, though, that they see what I wanted for them— to be successful, and have bright futures.” Both sisters are alumnae of Oakland Catholic High School and Chandel is a firstyear law student at Villanova University. She had been accepted at several colleges after graduating from high school. Her first choice was American University, but she ultimately left the school and entered the University of Pittsburgh, from which she graduated with honors. Chandel first thought she would be a teacher, but participation in a high school workshop at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, along with hearing a presentation by a young female contracts attorney, sold her on becoming an attorney. At Oakland Catholic, she maintained a 4.0 GPA and was the school’s representative on the City of Pittsburgh Mayor’s Youth Council. “Chandel is a natural leader, evidenced through her participation in such activities as People-to-People, senior class president, student government and Maximizing Adolescent Potentials (MAPS), a University of Pittsburgh program that fosters youth leadership,” says Florence M. Rouzier, Ph.D., executive director of Crossroads Foundation, a Pittsburgh nonprofit that helps youth pursue higher education. “I see both these young women as future leaders and outstanding role models.”
direction. “I’m interested in intellectual property, specifically, copyright and trademark law,” she says. “All major companies use copyright and trademark attorneys. For instance, the (NFL’s Washington) Redskins organization is an example of where this type of attorney would be used—they are in the midst of a lawsuit because of the use of the name.” Excelling all through their education, engaging extracurricular activities that supported their scholarly achievements and having positive role models all have factored in the outstanding results of their efforts. For Chandel, a family friend from church, Douglas Allen, an attorney at Reed Smith, was a role model. And for Cieayrra it’s her aunt, Keyne Thomas of Florida, a celebrated neurosurgeon in her own right. For all their accomplishments, both girls feel challenges that belie their success. Like many young women, Chandel struggles with insecurities and self-doubt. “I seem to always be seeking approval of others, and no matter how many things turn out right, like getting accepted into law school, I still doubt that I’ll be good enough for the next thing,” Chandel explains. Cieayrra says her challenge is in her lack of focus. “Sometimes I’m short on focus and don’t act on planning the way I should,” Cieayrra says. “Sometimes I just go with the flow and don’t take things as seriously as I should. But, you get to college and it’s clear there is no one here making you finish projects or turn things in—staying focused is the key here.” Their mother says both girls have far exceeded her expectations for them. “My goal for them has always been for them to be better than me—to at least get out of high school without becoming a single mom, like I did. I hoped that the boundaries and rules I set and kept would keep them on track—and they did. But more than this, I am so thankful that FOCUSED—A successful future is in sight for the Boozer sisters of East Liberty—Cieayrra, left, they were in the right places and the right and Chandel. (Photo by Jacqueline McDonald) times for people to see their gifts.” Cieayrra, the younger of the two, is a senior at Temple University studying neuroscience. She’s fascinated by autism and Alzheimer’s disease, which cover the lifespan of neurological disorders. “These two conditions are not really studied like they should be,” Cieayrra says. “I’m interested uncovering some type of pre-diagnosis for them.” Cieayrra was an honor student at Oakland Catholic as well and was involved in Oakland Catholic Confronting Racism (OCCR), a group that came together to improve race relations. “The administration was unaware of some of the issues facing the African American girls,” Cieayrra recalls. “We basically formed the group so there would be a platform for dialogue.” Participation at the National Student Leadership Conference on the Campus of University of Maryland further added to the development of Cieayrra’s leadership skills. Chandel’s legal career is headed in an equally ambitious
Each month in the New Pittsburgh Courier, McAuley Ministries will sponsor an article highlighting the positive contributions of an African American youth—male or female. We welcome community members to suggest a young person to feature in this monthly column. Criteria include: • Youth and young adults, ages 12-23 • Documented evidence of leadership or achievement in community service/volunteerism; leadership or achievement in their classroom/school; creativity as an artist, musician, dancer or filmmaker; success as an entrepreneur; leadership in advocating for social justice and equity; and/or achievement in corporate or nonprofit arenas • A resident of Allegheny County. Readers who would like to suggest a youth for this feature should email GenNext@pmhs.org.
New Pittsburgh Courier
‘The Ballad of Emmett Till’ B7
LIFESTYLES FEBRUARY 3-9, 2016
www.newpittsburghcourier.com
worship at Macedonia Teen Bash 2016 B2 & B8
Music, dance
B
Debbie Norrell
Lifestyles Report
In my Travels... winter 2016 I can’t help but share the price of rent at one of the new apartment buildings in East Liberty. Yes, this is 15206 folks. It is called the Penn at Walnut on Highland Avenue and opens in the summer of 2016. According to Walnut Capital, the micro units are $1200$1285, the studio $1650$1900 and a 1BR/1BA plus den: $1955-$2300. They are listed as luxury apartments with an in-unit washer and dryer, and private balconies. The selling point is being able to walk to all of the East Liberty amenities—the restaurants, the stores and, of course, Bakery Square. All I can say is wow. Do you know what you can buy or even rent by just going 1 to 5 miles in another direction? Those of you who have a long time connection to East Liberty, aka S’liberty, please take some time and ride around and see the new construction. I recommend that you do this on a Sunday when it’s not too busy. Things are so different you may get lost and not know where you are. If you have not been there in a while, your jaw will drop. During my indoor travels, I just checked out a few movies and I found both worthy of recommending. The first is, “The Big Short” starring Brad Pitt, Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell. As someone who has and continues to work in the banking industry, I found this film quite interesting. Here is the brief description that IMDB (Internet Movie Database) gives for “The Big Short.” Four denizens in the world of high-finance predict the credit and housing bubble collapse of the mid-2000s, and decide to take on the big banks for their greed and lack of foresight. If you read that you probably would pass it by. But the movie gives you an inside look as to why people signed up for subprime mortgages and adjustable rate mortgages, and ultimately lost their homes. The movie is well done and although none of the Black people in the movie have major roles, there are a few Blacks with parts of significance. IMDB says “Steve Jobs” takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution, to paint a portrait of the man at its epicenter. The story unfolds backstage at three iconic product launches, ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac. To me, that sounds rather boring. This movie is not boring. The back story is that Jobs has a little girl and continues to deny that he is her father. Both movies left me wanting more information, so now I’m on a mission to buy books that will give me the complete story. Just an aside, stay away from adjustable mortgages. I was thinking they were outlawed, but just in case they resurface, don’t do it. Valentine’s Day is right around the corner don’t forget to send cards to friends and family. I am sending cards to some of the people I missed at Christmas time I think the cards will make them feel warm and fuzzy. (Email the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com)
82 YEARS OF DELTA AMONG THESE THREE—Anita Walker, Margie Walker and Curtistine Walker
LET’S PLAY CARDS—Nikia Arrington, Chris White Taylor and Krista Taylor
Let the fun and fellowship begin by Debbie Norrell Courier Staff Writer
Fellowship, fun and fundraising were the key components of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.’s Annual Card Party and Luncheon on Jan. 16, at the Monroeville Doubletree Hotel. Hundreds of ladies gathered to enjoy an event that has become a Jan-
WINNER OF THE FLORAL PRIZE—Denise Jackson accepts flowers from Jenea Layman
uary favorite. There are always an abundance of door prizes and exciting silent auction items to bid on. Some of the baskets were so large that the winners needed help getting them to the car. There was an “I Don’t’ Cook” basket, an “All about the Blue Basket” and a Christmas tree full of Pa. Lottery tickets. Needless to say the winners were ecstatic when their numbers were called. Pittsburgh Alumnae Chapter President Diana Jaden welcomed the large crowd while Rhonda Carson Leach served as the mistress of ceremonies. Carolyn Davis delivered the invocation and also made a return performance as the bingo caller. After lunch it was time for card games: Bridge, Pinochle, Bid whist, Spades and Bingo at a whole new level. Rochelle Chatman, Tynesha Frazier and Rhonda Carson WELCOME—Rhonda Carson Leach (Photos by Debbie Norrell) Leach served as event chairs. The Annual Card Party raises funds for Delta Sigma Theta programs.
CO-CHAIRS—Tynesha Frazier and Rochelle Chatman
WINNER OF THE BLUE BASKET—Eunice Anderson
LOTTERY TREE WINNER—Dorothy Godbolt, left, receives the lottery tree from a member of Delta Sigma Theta.
TABLE MATES—In no order: Nikia Arrington, Krista Taylor, Beatrice Barnett, Anna Taylor, Janice Hamon, Evelyn McCullen Stephens and Jackie Blakey Tate
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RELIGION
FEBRUARY 3-9, 2016 NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
Praise & Worship HILLCREST SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
Music, dance, worship at Macedonia’s Teen Bash 2016
2340 Wylie Ave., Pgh., PA 15219 412-391-4334 412-566-8787
“Be Encouraged”
Elder Christopher C. Thompson Power Hour Sabbath...............8:15 A.M. Sabbath School........................9:00 A.M. Divine Worship......................11:00 A.M. AYS One Hour Before Sunset Prayer Meeting Wednesday......7:30 P.M.
ST. BENEDICT THE MOOR CATHOLIC CHURCH Crawford & Centre Ave. Pgh., PA 15219 412-281-3141 Mass Sunday 9:00 A.M. & Noon Sunday (Gospel Choir Mass) Noon www.stbtmchurch.org
METROPOLITAN BAPTIST CHURCH 22 Sampsonia Street, Northside Pittsburgh, PA 15212 412-231-2554 FAX 412-231-6395 Rev. Lacy F. Richardson, Ph.D., Pastor Church School.................................9:30 A.M. Worship Service.................8:00 & 10:45 A.M. Bible Study/ Prayer Wednesday...................6:30/7:30 P.M.
CHRISTIAN DANCE—I Am Saved Christian Dance Company
HUSANI THOMPSON giving the opening prayer.
www.metropolitanbaptistchurch.com metropolitanbaptist2224@gmail.com
SIXTH MOUNT ZION BAPTIST CHURCH 6556 Shetland Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206 (412) 441-7839 Church School Worship Service Wednesday Night Bible Study
9:00 a.m. 10:15 a.m. 6:00 p.m.
East Liberty Presbyterian Church Rev. Dr. Randy Bush, Senior Pastor 412-441-3800 116 S. Highland Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15206
www.cathedralofhope.com
Journey Worship........8:45 a.m. Sanctuary Worship.......11 a.m.
THE PRAYERS WERE PLENTIFUL
Join our growing Praise and Worship Church Community
GREETING HIS FANS—Macedonia Baptist Church of Pittsburgh, located at 2225 Bedford Ave., in the Hill District, hosted its Teen Bash 2016. The theme was “G.O.T. F.I.R.E. (God Over Thoughts Feelings Image Relationships Everything)?” The featured guest was Uncle Reece, along with many other artists. There were also competitions and giveaways. Pictured above, Uncle Reece is shaking hands with his 14-year-old fan, Khalil Schaeffer. See more photos on B-8. (Photos by J. L. Martello)
For rate information, call 412-4818302, ext. 128. We are looking to feature BRANDON TERRY, winner of the dance competition. The 10-yearold is from Stanton Heights.
Church Circuit Bowling Party
our positive youth in the church communities. You can e-mail, fax or mail their bios and photo to: New Pittsburgh Courier 315 E. Carson St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Fax: 412-481-1360 email: egaines@newpittsburghcourier.com
FEB. 12—The Center for Urban Biblical Ministry, 7418 Penn Ave., Point Breeze, will host a Bowling Party from 9 p.m.-12 a.m. at Swissvale Lanes, 7518 Dickson St., Swissvale. Registration is requested. For more information, call 412-247-9010 or email clovelace@cubm.org.
Valentine’s Ball
FEB. 13—CSSS will host the Kingdom Sons & Daughters Valentine’s Ball at the Georgetown Centre, 526 E. Bruceton Rd., Pittsburgh. Ladies are asked to wear their best dress or gown and gentlemen should sport their best suit or tuxedo. This will be a night full of fun, food, laughs and dancing. Reservations are required. For more information, email Vivian Queen at tigerpride1246@gmail.com.
Kick Boxing
FEB. 15—Brown Chapel AME Church, 1400 Boyle St., North Side, will host a
Kick Boxing Class at 10 a.m. Every Saturday, instructor Melodye Gay will teach the fundamentals of kick boxing. Guests are encouraged to bring a mat or towel, bottled water and a friend or two. Registration is requested. For more information, call Julia Smith at 412-417-2139.
Scholarship Tea
FEB. 20—The Allegheny Union Baptist Association’s Congress of Education will host its annual William A. Arvin Scholarship Tea at 12 p.m. at Morningstar Baptist Church, 307 Shaw Ave., Clairton, Pa. The theme is “The Music From The Word.” For more information, email Susie Gibson at susiegibson.sg@gmail. com.
(To have items listed on the Church Circuit, send information at least two weeks in advance to: 315 E. Carson St., Pittsburgh, PA 15219; Fax: 412-481-1360 or e-mail: newsroom@newpittsburghcourier. com.)
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
PEOPLE
FEBRUARY 3-9, 2016
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CELEBRATING KING—The African American Heritage Committee of the Pittsburgh Federal Executive Board presented its “REMEMBER! CELEBRATE! ACT! ….King’s Legacy of Freedom for our World” at the William Moorhead Federal Building. The guest speaker was Pastor Brian Wright. Pictured above, everyone singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” (Photos by J. L. Martello)
Federal Executive Board celebrates Martin Luther King
REV. MAUREEN CROSS-BOLDEN giving the benediction.
PASTOR BRIAN WRIGHT Guest Speaker
ORGANIZERS—AAHMC Committee members, from left: Louise Walker, Tamara Ivosevic, Juanita Barber, Michael Worthy, Kiley K. McPhatter and Lorraine Cook.
ENJOYING THE DAY—From left: Louise Walker, guest speaker Pastor Brian Wright and Lorraine Cook.
KILEY K. McPHATTER reciting a poem for the celebration.
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FEBRUARY 3-9, 2016
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
HEALTH
Take charge of your health today. Be informed. Be involved.
Vitamins and Supplements ESTHER BUSH
This month, the “Take Charge of Your Health Today” page focuses on vitamins and supplements. Jennifer R. Jones, MPH, community engagement coordinator with the University of Pittsburgh CTSI, and Esther L. Bush, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, sat down to discuss the chosen topic. JJ: Good morning, Ms. Bush. Itʼs always a pleasure to hear your perspectives on our health topic each month. For February, weʼre focusing on vitamins and supplements. I feel like this is a new trend. Protein shake commercials and herbal supplement advertisements seem to be quite popular recently. EB: Yes, Jennifer. Iʼve noticed that too. With so much information, itʼs sometimes hard to know what is best for our bodies. And what makes it even more difficult is that we each are different. What is beneficial for one person may not be beneficial for someone else. JJ: Thatʼs very true, Ms. Bush. I talked with a researcher and dietician at Pitt about this topic. Her key message was to remember that the starting point of our nutritional intake should be from the food we eat. A balanced diet is very important. Vitamins and supplements are necessary to add to that nutritional intake, but only when we need it. Like you mentioned, itʼs tricky because the levels that
each body needs is different. EB: Our bodies are really complex, arenʼt they? JJ: They certainly are! As Dr. Berenbrok discusses in the overview, itʼs important to talk to a health care professional, whether thatʼs your primary care physician, nurse or a pharmacist. They can answer questions and give you advice about the vitamins and supplements that you should take or may not even need. Theyʼll be able to assess your medical history and your current prescriptions to make sure that you donʼt have any harmful reactions. They will also be able to help you with making healthy lifestyle choices. EB: Those are wonderful things to know Jennifer. What are we talking about next month? JJ: Next month we are talking about a delicate topic – drugs. Thereʼs a lot research happening in our city, and many people are affected by this horrible epidemic. As always, thank you for your time. For more information or with questions, e-mail partners@hs.pitt.edu.
Which dietary supplement is right for you? Do you take a daily multivitamin? An herbal supplement? How about a pill that advertises weight loss? If so, you are a part of the majority of people in the U.S. (according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) who add to their diet by using vitamins, minerals, herbals and amino acids, to name a few. Chances are, you are also someone who has not talked about what you are taking with your health care provider. How do people know which supplement is right for them? People naturally have questions about supplements. Do they work? How do they work? Answers to these questions are not as obvious as they would be for medicines that health providers prescribe. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the federal agency that oversees both dietary supplements and medicines. Prescription and overthe-counter drugs have to be reviewed and approved by the FDA. Before drugs are allowed to be advertised and sold, the companies that make them have to test the drugs and submit proof that the drugs are safe and effective. Dietary supplements are not approved as drugs by the FDA. Companies that advertise and sell vitamins, minerals or herbal supplements do not have to get FDA approval to sell their products. But the FDA would step in if it found a product to be unsafe or the manufacturer to be making false claims about the product. When health care providers prescribe medications to patients, they are taking into account what health conditions the patients have, how much and how often they need to take the medicine, any allergies they have and many other factors. The same considerations are important when making decisions about taking dietary supplements. Doctors usually ask their patients to list all the supplements patients are taking. They will help patients know what is best for them. But people probably do not see their doctors as frequently as they are in a drug store. It is often
pharmacists who figure prominently in peopleʼs decisions to take supplements. “Itʼs really important to establish a relationship with a pharmacist much as you do with any other health care provider,” says Lucas A. Berenbrok, PharmD, assistant professor of pharmacy and therapeutics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. “Pharmacists are good at keeping accurate and current medication lists that we can share with anybody (with the patientʼs permission) on the patientʼs health care team. Part of that list should include dietary supplements because they can interact—sometimes harmfully—with prescription medications. “Pharmacists want to know why patients want to take LUCAS A. BERENBROK, PHARMD supplements: Do they feel their diet is missing something? Are they trying to get in a conversation with a health care provider calcium from a multivitamin? We know calwho knows the personʼs health history, specium is good for bone health, but people might not need the extra vitamins and miner- cific concerns and all current medications als included in that multivitamin. There is the and supplements. If people feel their diet is lacking something, the website possibility of supplements interacting with http://www.choosemyplate.gov/ provides inprescription medications. People shouldnʼt formation about healthy eating. No one assume that every supplement is ok for everyone. Get help to figure out whatʼs best for should diagnose themselves and use supplements as medicine. Supplements are not you.” Dr. Berenbrok also points out that pharma- meant to treat disease. Getting help with supplements can be as cists can help with dosing questions—knoweasy as walking over to the pharmacy ing how much of a supplement to take and counter. As Dr. Berenbrok reminds us, “Pharhow often. Even the very small print on a bottle label can prevent someone from taking macies are pretty accessible. Theyʼre open in the evenings, weekends and some holithe correct dose. How do people know if they need a dietary days. And they are staffed by medication exsupplement? The question is best answered perts.”
Vitamin D and a Healthy Heart Research Study Opportunity
Vitamin D is important for our bone health. Maintaining adequate vitamin D levels in our blood may be beneficial for our heart-health. Our bodies make vitamin D when a particular range of ultraviolet rays in the sunlight touches our skin. We can also get vitamin D from foods and supplements. Vitamin D deficiency (low levels of vitamin D) is common during winter among people living in the northern parts of the U.S., in places such as Pittsburgh. The reason is because there isnʼt much vitamin D-producing sunlight during winter. The risk of vitamin D deficiency is greater among people with dark skin color because they have higher
levels of melanin pigment in their skin. Melanin pigment is a natural sunscreen and blocks the vitamin D-producing sunlight. Therefore, a person with a darker skin color will need more sunlight exposure to make the same amount of vitamin D as a person with lighter skin color. Obese individuals also have a higher risk of vitamin D deficiency as vitamin D gets trapped in their body fat. Dr. Kumaravel Rajakumar, M.D., associate professor of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Childrenʼs Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, is conducting a NIHfunded research study to see if increasing the vitamin D levels
DR. KUMARAVEL RAJAKUMAR, M.D
of vitamin D-deficient children with obesity can improve their heart-health. Healthy 10- to 18-yr-old children who are overweight are potentially eligible for participation. Eligible participants found to have low vitamin D levels in a screening blood test can join the study. Compensation and parking will be provided. If you are interested to learn more, please contact Dr. Kumaravel Rajakumar at 412-692-5415 or D3VHStudy@chp.edu. Information about the study is also available at www.chp.edu/d3vh.
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
FEBRUARY 3-9, 2016
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Cover To Cover
‘Year of Yes’
by Terri Schlichenmeyer For New Pittsburgh Courier
For far too long, you’ve been holding back. Opportunities have presented themselves, and you’ve passed on them. Chances have leaped in front of you and you skipped them, but you’re not sure why. Some days, you feel like you’re in a ten-footdeep rut; in the book “Year of Yes” by Shonda Rhimes, you’ll see how to get out. With two babies and a “tween” at home, several mega-hit productions, and hundreds of employees on her payroll, writer-creator-producer Shonda Rhimes had ample reason for turning down requests. She was busy—and she was also terrified. Rhimes is a private person, an introvert’s introvert. She hated publicity, interviews, and foofaraw, all of which scared her to the point of panic. “NO” was
a much safer word until, on Thanksgiving Day a few years ago, her sister said six words that set Rhimes back on her heels: “You never say yes to anything.” A few days later, after those words sunk in, Rhimes realized how wrong it was that her sister was right. Rhimes was “miserable” and knew that she shouldn’t be, so before she was tempted to let the idea go forever, she texted a friend and vowed to say “YES” to everything scary for one years’ time. Almost immediately, the “Universe” sent her the first challenge: an invitation to speak at her alma mater’s graduation. Next came an invitation to interview with Jimmy Kimmel and, said Rhimes when it was done, “I didn’t die.” She said yes to letting go of outdated ideas about motherhood. She became “a big social butterfly” before learning to say yes to play. As an F.O.D. (a “First. Only. Different.”), she’d already said yes to “literally changing the face of television,” but she had to learn to watch the yeses she stuffed in her face…and she said yes to weight loss. She said yes to those who inspired her. She said yes to compliments. She said yes to learning how to appropriately say “no.” She said yes to singlehood because everybody’s “happy ending” is different. And she said yes because “Saying yes…is courage.” With all she has on her plate—one high-profile company, three kids, four hit TV shows—you should wonder where author Shonda Rhimes found time to write a book. And you should be glad she did. With wisdom, wit sharper than a Ginsu knife, and the warmth of a BFF, Rhimes takes readers on her yearplus-long journey, from “It’s NEVER going to get better” to a life of joy, on a road filled with potholes of selfdoubt, hairpin curves, and the realization that inviting fears into her life wasn’t going to kill her. Yes, I loved it. (“Year of Yes” by Shonda Rhimes, c.2015, Simon & Schuster, $24.99/$32.99 Canada, 311 pages.)
Peabo Bryson at AWC for one-night only by Genea L.Webb For New Pittsburgh Courier
For four decades sultry singer Peabo Bryson has made women swoon with his passionate and beautiful delivery of some of the world’s best songs. “You are expressing sentiments and senarios that appeal to everyone,” said Bryson, a 65-year-old Greenville South Carolina native who resides in Atlanta. “We all have our secret desires, thoughts and dreams. We’re not that far apart. Every guy and girl has a secret desire to be in some exotic place they walk around the corner and see each other and just know that that’s the one. That desire stays with us until we find it. Women hope to find a man who knows what she wants and needs and is able to give it to her.” Bryson will bring his unique brand of romance and love to Pittsburgh on Friday, Feb. 5, at 8 p.m. at the August Wilson Center for African American Culture as part of the Voice of Love Tour. Tickets can be purchased at www.trustarts.org or by calling 412456-6666. “I’m always excited to come to Pittsburgh in general. I remember the old Stanley Theater and I have some fond memories of some great artists that I’ve worked with there,” Bryson said. “I haven’t been to Pittsburgh in a long time and I’m happy to return.” The avid golfer and family man has created more than 20 albums and won two Grammy Awards and two Best Song Academy Awards for “Beauty and the Beast” and “A Whole New World (Aladdin’s Theme).” He is known for selling out seven consecutive shows at Radio City Music Hall. “My kind of music will always come back around because you can see the relationships. They shouldn’t stop believing in love because it’s going to happen you’ll find someone.” Bryson began singing at the age of 14 as a star of the traveling revue Al Freeman and the Upsetters. In 1968 he left home to tour the Southern “Chitlin” Circuit and gained invaluable experience in singing and entertaining. In 1976 he released his debut album, “Peabo” and he joined the Capitol Records family two years later where he released “Reaching for the Sky,” which went gold. He paired with Natalie Cole in 1979 for the album, “We’re the Best of Friends.” Life imitated art and the two became life-long friends. Cole passed away Dec. 31, 2015. “It is a tremendous loss to all of us. She was really a great talent and really a great person,” Bryson said. “I judge people not just by the things they do that can put you in awe, or their talent but by the content of their character. She was someone that I held in high
PEABO BRYSON esteem in regards to character. She was someone I truly called a friend. We didn’t have to talk everyday to remain friends we could pick up the head of the last conversation. There are few people like that. In terms of mainstream artist, she was the very first person I got to know early on in my career
In 1980 Bryson used what he learned from working with Cole to collaborate with Roberta Flack for the Atlantic Records-double LP, “Live & More.” He released four more albums before pairing with Flack again for the classic album “Born to Love” that featured the monster smash hit, “To-
AUGUST WILSON CENTER before I got signed to Capitol Records. We were kind of starting out at the same time “ Bryson said his work with Cole taught him a lot about friendship and camaraderie and what bonding with another artist is like. The self-proclaimed history buff had the pleasure of chatting with his good friend a few months before her passing. “I miss her as a friend. I really do. I also miss her talent,” he said. “I’m going to miss her talent always. We learned a lot of things: We learned how to sing a duet properly we learned how to co-exist and manage our egos. We learned a lot of different things coming up in the ranks together.”
NATALIE COLE
night I Celebrate My Love,” which reached the top 5 on the R & B charts and # 16 on the Pop Charts. “When I think of Roberta I think of music because she is very musical, she has perfect pitch even though she doesn’t talk about it. She’s always pushing me to do something out of the box like learn three arias in Italian. She’s a nurturer by nature. We know each other so well that we don’t have to be in the same room even though I prefer it,” he laughed. “She’s like all of my duet partners you fall a little bit in love with them and you have to if you want your music to stand the test of time and touch people forever like it did when you first play it.” The success of “Tonight I Celebrate My Love” earned him the moniker “King of Balladeers.” It also led him to a contract with Elektra Records for four albums. The second recording, “Take No Prisoners,” featured the juggernaut crossover hit, “If Ever Your In My Arms Again,” which reached number 10 on the R & B and Pop Charts and number 1 on the Adult Contemporary Charts. When he returned to Capitol Records in 1989, Bryson scored his first number one R & B hit with the remake of the late Al Wilson’s “Show & Tell.” His second number one R & B hit came from the title song of his next album, which he recorded for Columbia Records, “Can You Stop the Rain.” “Can You Stop the Rain” earned Bryson a Grammy
nomination for Best R & B Vocal Performance by a male in 1991. He did it again in 1992 for “Lost in the Night.” Two Disney animated films songs is what allowed Bryson to add Grammy winner to his resume. 1991’s “Beauty and the Beast” with international
Charts in 1993. Bryson has showed his acting chops by appearing in the lead role in a touring production of “Raisin,” based on Lorraine Hansberry’s classic “A Raisin in the Sun.” He also took on the lead role of the Wizard in a touring company of “The Wiz.” In 1998 he appeared in the Michigan Opera House’s 100th anniversary of Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess.” Over the years he has released three Christmas albums filled with songs that he has performed for seven years in the holiday music show “Colors of Christmas” In 2005 he released “Live in Concert: Ladies Request” in collaboration with TimeLife. Bryson has served as the spokesperson for the company’s “Soul Retrospective” collection. The “Live in Concert” album features many of the singer’s biggest hits and has sold more than three million copies. In 2006 he released “The Very Best of Peabo Bryson,” which he released over several record labels. He is currently working on a new project with super producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. “The project is a lot of fun. We’re almost there with it,” Bryson said. When asked what he contributes his 40 successful years in the music world to, Bryson’s answer is simple. “I don’t say anything or sing anything that I couldn’t sing for my mother,” Bryson said. “There’s that and being honest and sincere about what it is you have to say. You have to play all the parts: hero, villain all of it people can relate to one of the parts that you are playing and that’s why the music that I make stands the test of time.”
superstar Celine Dion. The song became a number 1 pop hit. Only a short year later, Bryson won another Grammy for “A Whole New World (Aladdin’s Theme),” which he performed with songstress Regina Belle. Both “Beauty and the Beast” and “A Whole New World” won Oscars for best song. Those successes made Bryson a highly-sought after duet partner and resulted in collaborations with Tony Award winner Lea Solanga for the “King and I” score “We Kiss in the Shadows,” Melissa Manchester’s “Lovers After All” and Ken(For more information on Peabo ny G’s “Before This Night is Over,” which enjoyed Bryson visit www.peabobryson. three weeks on the Hot 100 net.)
ROBERTA FLACK
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
February Thursday 4 Black History Month Exhibit Citiparks presents its “A History on Film: A Tribute to African American Contribution to Film” Black History Month Exhibit weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. at the City-County Building, Lobby, 414 Grant St., Downtown. Through Feb. 29, the exhibit will depict the evolution of the roles that Black actors and actresses have played from the 1910s to present day. It will salute the first African Americans to win Oscar and Emmy Awards. For more information, call 412-2558983.
‘Let My People Go’ Pittsburgh CAPA presents “Let My People Go” at 7 p.m. at the Pittsburgh CAPA Theater, 111 9th St., Downtown. In celebration of Black History Month, students will perform “Let My People Go,” a collage of soul stirring poetry, music, songs and dance depicting the inspiring journey to discover lost African American pearls of history, wisdom and spirit. There will also be a show on Feb. 5at 7 p.m. For more information, email Lisa Pickett at lpickett1@pghboe.net.
Friday 5 Jazz at Andys Andys Wine Bar at the Fairmont Pittsburgh Hotel presents Jazz at Andys from 5-12 a.m. at 510 Market St., Downtown. The evening will feature its Vinyl Fridays Happy Hour with DJ Malls spinning the vinyl from 5-7:30. Following the happy hour, there will be a musical performance by Spanky. It is open to the public. For more information, visit www.andyswinebar.com.
Bob Marley Birthday Bash The Kelly Strayhorn Theater presents its “Bob Marley Birthday Bash” at 8 p.m. at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Ave., East Liberty. As a tribute to Bob Marley, a revolutionary artist who delivered a message of peace and justice in a unique way, the Kelly Strayhorn Theater will transform its lobby into a Jamaican dance hall filled with Reggae tunes, live performances, treats and more. Guests will dance the night away as they celebrate his musical and cultural legacy. For more information, call 412-363-3000 or visit www.kelly-strayhorn.org.
Saturday 6 African American Read-In United Black Book Clubs of Pittsburgh presents the International African American Read-In at 1 p.m. at the Carnegie Library in Homewood, 7101 Hamilton Ave., Homewood. Hosted by award-winning poets, Terrance Hayes and Yona Harvey, this Black History Month event celebrates the African, African American and Caribbean writers. The community will read children’s books. Interested participants are asked to prepare a 2-5minute excerpt to read. Registration is requested. For more information, visit www.carnegielibrary.org.
Sunday 7 ‘Room on the Broom’ The Citizens Bank Children’s Theater Series presents “Room on the Broom” at 2 p.m. at the Byham Theater, 101 6th St., Cultural District. This production, based on a children’s book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, is about a witch and her cat who are flying on their broomstick until a stormy wind blows away the witch’s hat, bow and wand. A helpful dog, bird and frog find the items and hop on the broom for a ride, causing it to crack and snap in two. Now the witch has to find help. Through song, laughs, and scary good fun, kids will enjoy watching the witch’s journey. The production will run through Feb. 13 and is recommended for ages 310. For more information, visit www.trustarts.org.
Monday 8 Independent Lens PBS presents its “Independent Lens” documentary series at 10 p.m. The featured documentary, “A Ballerina’s Tale” by Nelson George, introduces Misty Copeland, the woman who made history by becoming the first African American female principal dancer with the prestigious American Ballet Theatre. It documents Copeland’s historic rise while shinning light on the absence of women of color at major ballet companies. For more information, visit www.pbs.org.
‘The Ballad of Emmett Till’ brings slain teen to life FEBRUARY 3-9, 2016
ARTS & CULTURE
by Genea L. Webb For New Pittsburgh Courier
The horrific images of 14year-old Emmett Till’s bloated, disfigured body at his 1955 funeral has remained in Joyce Meggerson-Moore’s mind since she saw it in two Black magazine years ago. “At his funeral, his mother said she wanted the whole world to see how he was murdered. In one of the magazines she talked about how she went over his whole body. That stuck with me,” Meggerson-Moore said. “A lot of young people don’t know his history and sometimes we forget this history.” That’s why she felt this was the perfect time for New Horizon Theater Inc. to present “The Ballad of Emmett Till,” written by Ifa Bayeza, as its annual Black History Month production. “We’ve been doing historical pieces for the past few years for Black History month,” Meggerson-Moore said. “I’ve been putting this off because I didn’t know if people wanted to be reminded of this but this is the time for it because it has a lot of parallels with what’s happening with our youth today.” Recent homicides include teenagers Trayvon Martin in 2012, and Tamir Rice and Michael Brown, both in 2014. According the CDC, homicide was the #1 killer of Black men between the ages of 15 and 34 in 2011. Despite making up less than two percent of the U.S. population, Black males between the ages of 15-34 made up more than 15 percent of all the deaths in 2015, according to a Guardian study. “The Ballad of Emmett Till” is based on the Mississippi murder of Till, a Chicago Black youth who was killed for whistling at a White woman. Many believe that his mother’s agonizing decision to have an open casket at his funeral marked the start of the modern Civil Rights Movement. Directed by Lundeana M. Thomas, the production is part poetry and part ghost story. It is an integration of the past, the present, the living and the dead and factual accounts blended in a mixture of Jazz, poetry and theatricality. It gives audiences a glimpse into the real Till who had a White grandmother, attended a parochial school and grew up around Whites. Like Meggerson-Moore, the subject matter of “The Ballad of Emmet Till” resonates with Thomas. “It’s a play that is near and dear to my heart simply because I remember as a little girl when it actually happened and my father was from Mississippi and he had lived in Chicago,” Thomas said. “When the paper would come, my mother would be the reader and seven to nine people would come and sit on my grandmother’s linoleum floor and some would sit on the sofa. My mother would read and my father give commentary about this is what happened, this is what he probably did, and everybody was so engrossed in what was going on. I remember seeing the pictures and the story of Emmett Till stayed very heavily on my mind.” Thomas took her very real experience of Till’s death to help her direct the fivemember New Horizon Theater cast. “We’re supposed to learn from the past and that’s not happening apparently and I’m hoping that this play will not only show about the life of Emmett Till, but also to help us see things that will help enlighten us so that things will get better here for our young men in some way so that we can be a better group of people,” Thomas said. “We can’t keep going death after death after death. We have to change something.” Meggerson-Moore hopes to bring Bayeza (sister of author Ntozake Shange who penned the award-winning choreopoem, “For Colored Girls Who Have Con-
sidered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf”) to Pittsburgh some time during the run of the play for a question and answer session with the audience. “She is very open to coming to Pittsburgh to see the production and to talk to
audiences about her journey in writing it,” Meggerson-Moore said. “The Ballad of Emmett Till” will run Feb. 4 (preview) through Feb. 14 at the Falk School University of Pittsburgh, 4060 Aliquippa St., Oakland. Show times are:
Thursdays and Fridays 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sundays 3 p.m. “This is a timely piece. There are people who want to move to action,” Thomas said. “I’m hoping that audiences will be awakened by the play. We need to push for
gun control and police officers carrying Tasers instead of guns. The problems we have from integration have not yet been solved. We have made some strides but we have a long way to go.” (For tickets visit www.newhorizontheater.org.)
CAST—From left: Dominique Briggs, Corey Lankford, Sam Lothard and Camille Lowman. (Photos by Richena Brockinson)
SCENE FROM PLAY—Jonathan Berry and Camille Lowman.
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FEBRUARY 3-9, 2016 NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
Music, dance, worship at Macedonia’s Teen Bash 2016
PRAISE THROUGH MIME—The Disciples of Mime performing a selection.
KEEPING IT GOING—Emcees, from left: Corey Lankford, Steve Edmonds and Ashley Smith.
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Charlene Crowell
Commentary
Banks make billions from unfair overdraft practices Fees deducted from millions of consumer checking accounts are making legal and financial news in early 2016. Banks are reaping billions of dollars on just one fee: overdraft. A new analysis by SNL Financial and CNN Money found that the nation’s three largest banks together collected more than $6 billion in overdraft fees last year. The analysis became possible due to new bank disclosures that went into effect last year. Secondly, by Jan. 22, final federal court approval is expected on a proposed $24 million settlement of a 2010 lawsuit that challenged how Bancorp South posted the order of consumer transactions. The suit alleged that bank customers were charged overdraft fees even when their accounts had sufficient funds to avoid the fees. To maximize fees, the bank re-ordered consumers’ transactions so that accounts would be depleted more quickly and result in more transactions posted against a negative balance. Instead of a single overdraft fee being charged, the reordered postings led to multiple fees. The bank practice also resulted in inaccurate balances for customers searching for balances online. The recent settlement marks the latest in a long line of lawsuits based on banks’ attempts to maximize overdraft revenue through unfair posting practices. The Center for Responsible Lending has noted that those hardest hit by overdraft fees included consumers of color, seniors, young adults, military families and those earning $50,000 or less. In a 2015 report, CRL concluded that “Abusive overdraft programs drive consumers out of the banking system; indeed they are the leading reason consumers lose their checking accounts.” In other research, the Consumer Financial Protect Bureau found that the bulk of overdraft fees are incurred through either ATM or debit card transactions. The typical $34 fee translates into an annual percentage rate of 17,000 percent. And an earlier 2013 CRL research report stated: “Typically, the overdraft fee is nearly twice the size of the debit card overdraft itself. This is particularly striking since transactions on debit cards can be declined at no cost to the consumer, when the account lacks sufficient funds.” The bottom line is that many consumers’ are seeing their earnings siphoned away by unfair overdraft practices. To improve household finances, consumers should consider drop out of their bank’s overdraft program. It’s easier and far cheaper for a transaction to be declined than to be charged more in interest and fees than the original transaction. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is considering establishing rules to address overdraft practices. Consumer advocates are pushing for rules that will limit the size and frequency of these fees. “Overdraft fees continue to take a toll on many households, sometimes pushing them out of the banking system altogether,” noted Rachel Anderson, CRL’s director of faith affairs. “When bank systems maximize overdrafts at the expense of their customers, it’s simply unconscionable.” (Charlene Crowell is a communications manager with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.)
EXCITED OWNERS—Celebrity Certified Wedding and Event Planner and Executive Chef Carolyn and Jerome Watkins take a moment sitting in front of art work created by a local artist. (Photos by Diane I. Daniels)
Restaurant owners create tasty and event-filled venue by Diane I. Daniels For New Pittsburgh Courier
In a couple months Rosalees Southern Comfort Cuisine Seafood and BBQ Restaurant, 100 Wises Grove Road in New Brighton will celebrate their first year anniversary. Since May owners Executive Chef Jerome and Celebrity Certified Wedding and Event Planner Carolyn Watkins have been serving gluten free, scratch kitchen and farm to table vegetables, fresh meat and sea food specially prepared gourmet meals. Entertaining guests with Grammy Award winning musicians playing during Jazz Supper Nights and hosting unique special events like lobster and clam bakes, fashion shows and weddings. Located on 44 acres with two lakes, the facility offers a golf driving range, baseball batting cages and an outdoor courtyard with a large stage for performances in the summer and indoor room for fall and winter performances. “The only restaurant offering this in the New Brighton area, we’re doing some things here that have not been seen before,” said the Watkins. Named after his mother, Jerome says the restaurant is a longtime dream of he and his wife. “With both of my parents being from the south, Mom from South Carolina and my dad from Alabama it is only fitting that our menu offers a touch of southern cuisine and we provide southern hospitality.” Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Sunday, Rosalees menu items consist of a mix of French, Italian and Southern Cuisine, which
includes appetizers, desserts and drinks with Chef Watkins specialty teas and fresh squeezed lemonade. All meals are served with an eye appealing presentation. A delivery service is available during lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. within a 5-mile radius encompassing Beaver Falls, Monaca and New Brighton. Catering is also a major part of the business. “We are well equipped to prepare for special occasions of any size,” says Jerome. “Weddings, family reunions and all types of social events. My goal is to provide clients with many dining options to feed their guests and guarantee a perfect dining experience that they will never forget.” A graduate of Schenley High School, Jerome says he always dreamed of becoming a chef and preparing great food. Before learning the basics of cooking at the Duquesne Club based in Pittsburgh as an apprentice under the US Olympic Team Chef Keith Cougher he attended Community College of Allegheny County and Westmoreland County Community College. Classically trained by some of the best celebrity Chefs in the industry throughout the years he has served as executive chef, managed and opened numerous restaurants along the east coast, New York, the Cape Cod area enabling him to hone his skills in the sea food and the Slow Food movement. He teamed with chefs in restaurants where they executed “farm to table” style cooking. He later began exploration of regional American Cuisine and says he is currently “exciting the
pallet” with seasonal flavors and spices looking to blend Italian freshness of ingredients with American ingredients. A lawyer by trade, Carolyn earned her law degree from Duquesne University. For over a decade she held the position of CEO and President of JC Services preparing wills, managing and maintaining the office and employees. Becoming bored with the profession and duties she decided to obtain a degree in wedding and event planning. A Celebrity Certified Wedding and Event Planner for more than 17 years she is now known for planning events, and weddings, for clients both in the United States and across the globe. “I have a passion for what I’m doing now. My goal is to create indelible memories for my clients, whether for a destination wedding on a tropical island, a cozy dinner celebration for 10 overlooking the Hudson River in New York, or a 2-weekend wedding celebration spanning two continents.” Carolyn says her style, vision, expertise, listening skills and understanding of what her clients want is what makes her one of the most sought after event planners around. As a team, the Watkins are utilizing their talents and passions to make Rosalees a regional restaurant and entertainment paradise. Love is in the Air, supper with entertainer Ira Soul during Valentine’s Day weekend February 13 and 14 is their next special event. “We are excited to celebrate love with good food and top notch enSEE RESTAURANT C2
Wilkinsburg ‘Mind Your Busine$$’ seminar by Michael Rose For New Pittsburgh Courier
Entrepreneurs looking to revitalize their business models and passion for their craft took to Wilkinsburg recently for the “Mind Your Busine$$” seminar. A joint effort between Councilwoman Marita Garrett, coordinator for event, the Wilkinsburg Chamber of Commerce, Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation and the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence Small Business Development Center. The collaboration is a sign of greater synergy among the leading economic driving forces in the borough. “It’s really important and timely that the small business support committee of the chamber has been developed in the borough,” said Garrett. This is the first of a series of Wilkinsburg small business support series aimed to help amateur business owners prevent making all too common mistakes that end in bankruptcy. Director Ray Vargo and fellow consultant Michael Wholihan focused on the five do’s to make businesses relevant in the present and future. Vargo began the event by telling the crowd “to business owners, think of your mission statement as something at the top of the world. Something you have to keep striving for. Your vision is something that can be attained in the next quarter. We
tomers.” have to get rid of the myAccording to Vargo, the opic approach of the branding and mission short sided.” In his example he statement begins with stated how Disney the card one gives. bought the Star Wars “Make sure on your card franchise for four billion you present the solution dollars. The franchise to a problem people want however will likely go on to get solved,” he said to gross several times which led into the crux of that through toys, attrachis marketing strattions, rides, spinoffs, etc. egy—the A.B.L. policy. Second, the importance “A customers, are cusof social media has been tomers who have the known and exploited by highest potential for fortune 500 businesses growth, that have the for half a decade, but for highest profit margin the individual who jobs. B customers, are doesn’t come from a trathe customers that cause ditional business backyour business to break ground, the tip to use even, consistent, won’t MARITA GARRETT Facebook was extremely change much in value, helpful. but consistent. L is for Karen Denton owns Karen’s Second losers.” Chance cleaning company, a home based Vargo said a common mistake is people company named for the second chance she worry about reaching the most people insays God gave her after four brain stead of reaching the people who matter, aneurisms and two brain surgeries and preaching his rule of seven. “Marketing is how she now employs veterans and people about repetition. You must touch a cuswith criminal records to give them a second tomer seven times. National retail merchance. chants association the average retail opera“I didn’t know how powerful social media tion would go out of business in four years was going to be,” she said. Now Denton says if it doesn’t attract new customers because her mission will be “Focusing on the brand- the average business loses 25 percent of ing mission statement and value to my cus- business each year.”
Their last point was organization, a topic which Wholihan expressed with a vehement macabre of fatalism. “I wanted to run my business so that if I got hit by a bus someone could come in and take over the next day,” he said. Stressing that one must have five best friends to take advice from such as a financial planner, or an insurance agent when making decisions. Sylvia Deaderick for the last 10 years has had a probate realtor service and came looking for space to lease in Wilkinsburg for her home business. “The most gratifying thing about this is we are all in this together and no matter how big you are the services needed to own apply to us all and the importance of friendships needed,” she said. Garrett, a small business owner herself, said small businesses are the backbone of every community. Her business firm AdmINtrinsic is a community outreach and administrative support and consulting firm “We help you work on your business and not just in your business,” she said. Even though she has been successful in her endeavor for a few years she says even she can use a refresher every now and again. “Whatever you do it’s easy to get comfortable. This was a reminder hey post some more on Facebook, reach to a network maybe you haven’t reached out to. Don’t just rest on your laurels on how you got business so far. It never causes harm to go that extra mile.”
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Best credit cards for 2016 BUSINESS
The rise of interest rates: Things to consider After years of post-recession recovery and caution by the Federal Reserve (Fed), interest rates have finally inched up. While the recent quarter-percent hike in shortterm interest rates is not going to have an immediate effect on much, it’s a signal that higher interest rates are likely in the near future. The Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants offers these interest rate considerations that may affect your financial future. Refinancing debt If you have a mortgage interest rate that’s a couple of points higher than the historical lows we have recently enjoyed, or if you’ve been contemplating a refinance to either restructure your debt or obtain funds for home improvement, act now. As the Fed raises rates, mortgages will become more expensive. And as people stop procrastinating and act on obtaining mortgages, it’s going to be tougher to get the mortgage you want and it may take longer. So if a new mortgage is on your to do list, get it now. Home sales Related to mortgage rates, the market for home sales will likely be affected by interest rate rises. With mortgages as cheap as they have been the last few years, home prices have had a decent chance to rebound from the recession. As mortgages get more expensive, it will be harder to sell houses because it will become more expensive for buyers. If you have been considering a home sale, now might be the time to act, especially if a speedy sale is important to you. If rates rise quickly enough, it may mean that home prices stall. The real estate market frequently reacts in unexpected ways, but it’s a fact that if mortgages cost more, the pool of qualified buyers for homes is going to shrink. Risk and investment profile It’s too early to do much tinkering with your investment portfolio based on such a tiny rise in rates, but if you haven’t recently rebalanced or evaluated your risk and investment profile, do that now also. As interest rates rise, interest-bearing investments will become more attractive. If you’ve been uneasy about how much risk you have been bearing in the market, but have believed you had no other options because of the practically nonexistent returns on low-risk interest-bearing instruments, you may see an opportunity to change your asset allocations as interest rates rise. This is especially important as you approach retirement and will need to use your savings. Credit card rates Carrying excess credit card debt is never a good idea, but it’s been as cheap as it could be the last few years. That will soon change. Credit card rates will be the first thing to jump as the Fed raises rates. Pay off your credit card debt now. If you can’t retire it all at once, put yourself on as aggressive payment plan as you can to get rid of it before credit card interest rates skyrocket. Organization investments If you serve on a board of directors or have stewardship over funds of an association, it’s important to reexamine the goals and investment profiles of those organizations as well. Just as your personal financial plans need a periodic tune-up, the financial profile of organizations with invested assets also needs stewardship. If it’s part of your role to provide that stewardship, neglect it at your peril. Interest rates will be in the news in 2016. Be sure you are not left behind as the landscape shifts over the coming months.
Happy New Year! The confetti has been cleaned up, resolutions have been made and a few weeks have passed since the Federal Reserve raised its target interest rate for the first time in nearly a decade. It is with that context that CardHub today released its list of the Best Credit Cards for 2016 as well as its year-end Credit Card Landscape Report, which revealed that the Federal Reserve’s decision added $1.3 billion to consumers’ collective annual debt burden. Below you can find a brief overview of CardHub’s Best Credit Cards for 2016, which were chosen from a pool of more than 1,200 offers due to their unique ability to meet various consumer needs. Excellent Credit •Best for Rewards: Capital One Venture—40,000 bonus miles for spending $3,000 in the first three months (redeemable for $400 in travel-related expenses); 2 miles per $1 spent; no first-year annual fee ($59 thereafter). •Best for Rewards: Barclaycard Arrival Plus— 40,000 bonus miles for spending $3,000 in the first 90 days (redeemable for $400 in travel-related expenses); 2 miles per $1 spent; 5 percent miles redemption rebate; no first-year annual fee ($89 thereafter). •Best for Cash Back Rewards: Citi Double Cash—1 percent cash back on purchases; 1 percent cash back when you pay your bill; no annual fee. •Best for Hotel Rewards: Club Carlson Premier Rewards—85,000 bonus points for spending $2,500 in the first 90 days (redeemable for up to nine free nights); 40,000 additional bonus points each year (redeemable for up to four free nights); $75 annual fee. •Best for Airline Rewards: Citi/AAdvantage Platinum Select—50,000 bonus miles for spending $3,000 in the first three months (redeemable for $810 in American Airlines airfare); 2 miles per $1 spent with American Airlines; 10 percent redemption rebate; no first-year annual fee ($95 thereafter). •Best for New-Purchase Financing: Citi Diamond Preferred—0 percent on new purchases for 21 months; 12.24 percent—22.24 percent regular APR; no annual fee •Best for Balance Transfers: Slate from Chase— 0 percent on transferred debt for 15 months; 12.99 percent—22.99 percent regular APR; no transfer fee or annual fee. Good Credit •Best for Rewards: Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards—$100 initial bonus for spending $500 in the first three months; 1.5 percent cash back across all purchases; no annual fee. •Best for Airline Rewards: Frontier Airlines World MasterCard—40,000 bonus miles for spending $500 in the first 90 days (redeemable for two round-trip domestic flights); $69 annual fee. •Best for Hotel Rewards: IHG Rewards Club Select—60,000 bonus points for spending $1,000 in the first three months (redeemable for up to 12 free nights); 5 points per $1 spent at IHG locations; 2 points per $1 spent at gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants; 1 point per $1 spent everywhere
else; no first-year annual fee ($49 thereafter) •Best for Balance Transfers: Slate from Chase— 0 percent on transferred debt for 15 months; 12.99 percent—22.99 percent regular APR; no transfer fee or annual fee; attainable with good credit. Fair Credit •Best for Low-Cost Credit Improvement: Barclaycard Rewards MasterCard—No annual fee; 2 points per $1 spent on gas, groceries and utilities; and 1 point per $1 on everything else. ° Best for Rewards: Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards—1.5 percent cash back, 20 percent rebate on Uber rides through April; $39 annual fee. Limited/No Credit •Best for Low-Cost Credit Improvement (NonStudents): Capital One Platinum Credit Card—No first-year annual fee; catered to people with limited credit history. •Best for Rewards (Non-Students): Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards—1.5 percent cash back, 20 percent rebate on Uber rides through April; $39 annual fee; attainable with limited credit. •Best Cash Back Rewards for Students: Capital One Journey Student Rewards—1 percent cash back on all purchases; 25 percent rewards bonus when your monthly bill is paid on time; no annual fee. •Best Travel Rewards for Students: BankAmericard Travel Rewards for Students—20,000 bonus points for spending $1,000 in the first 90 days (redeemable for a $200 travel statement credit); 3 points per $1 spent on the first $6,000 in airfare booked through Bank of America each year; 1.5 points per $1 spent on everything else; no annual fee or foreign transaction fee. •Best for Student Financing: BankAmericard Card Rewards for Students—0 percent on new purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months (3 percent balance transfer fee); $100 initial bonus for spending $500 in the first 90 days; 3 percent cash back on gas and 2 percent on groceries for the first $1,500 in combined purchases in those categories; 1 percent cash back on everything else; no annual fee. Bad Credit •Best Fully Secured Card: Harley Davidson Secured Credit Card—$300 minimum deposit; credit line equal to deposit amount; no annual fee. •Best Partially Secured Card: Capital One Secured MasterCard—Minimum deposit of $49, $99, or $200, depending on credit standing; credit line may exceed deposit amount; no annual fee. •Best Rewards Secured Card: SunTrust Secured Credit Card—2 percent cash back on the first $6,000 spent each year on gas and groceries; 1 percent cash back on everything else; $32 annual fee. •Best Unsecured Card For Bad Credit: Credit One Visa with Credit Line Increase Reviews— Minimum credit line of $300; $35 to $75 annual fee the first year (depending on your credit standing); $35 to $99 annual fee thereafter; 1 percent cash back. (For the full list of the Best Credit Cards for 2016, please visit: http://www.cardhub.com/best-credit)
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NNPA News Wire Columnist
(NNPA)—My early days of being an activist seem so simple now. A hot head reporter or radio personality would challenge my actions and I would simply shut him/her down with my quips and verbal jockeying. An IRS series of audits, police interrogations, being pulled over by the state police, for no reason, were some of those tactics back then in Indiana. A strange car following our sons home from school was about the lowest tactic. Our opponents, politicians and local business owners found that we were afraid of nothing. We took a vow of near poverty. That meant we had nothing serious to lose and they had nothing to leverage us into submission or contrition. When we (my wife, Kay and I) decided that the above state was not beneficial to our twin son’s upbringing, we left Indiana for Washington, D.C. and began to live an upscale lifestyle. We brought with us an understanding of local political harassment and how to dodge around it. We relied on that experience until now. It appears that we have arrived in the major leagues and the enemies would not be some Hoosier Hicks. All of a sudden we were in the arena of billionaires who saw money as no object and vengeance as a requirement to their under the table activities. These guys make presidents, congresspersons, senators, etc. They take no prisoners (literally). One of my friends explained to me: “You have been used to dealing with people who seek to knock you down. These
Advancing Entrepreneurship in the Mon Valley FEB. 4—The University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence and the University Center for Social and Urban Research, and the Small Business Development Center will host the Advancing Entrepreneurship in the Mon Valley Workshop Series from 5:307:30 p.m. at the Carnegie Library of Homestead, 510 E. 10th Ave., Munhall. This workshop, which is titled “Make It Happen in the Mon Valley,” is designed to help individuals determine if starting a business is right for them and how to begin searching for the right business to start. Registration is requested. For more information, call 412-624-3095 or email iee@innovation.pitt.edu.
Donation Drive FEB. 6—Emerald Business Networking in conjunction with Neau World Charities LLC and others will host a Business Networking and Donation Drive from 1-4 p.m. at the Union Project, 801 N. Negley Ave., Highland Park. This is a networking event designed to draw attention to various homeless families, shelters and other hardship programs by donating hats, scarves and gloves, all while making new contacts. Vendor opportunities are available. For more information, call 412-301-7300.
Creating Strategy for Small Business FEB. 9—The Mon Valley Initiative and the University of Pittsburgh’s University Center for Social and Urban Research, and the Small Business Development Center will host its Creating Strategy for Small Business Success Workshop Series from 9-11 a.m. at the Mon Valley Initiative, 305 E. 8th Ave., Homestead. The topic will be “Leadership & Operations.” This seminar will focus on key strategies to efficiently and effectively operate one’s business. There will also be a discussion on the different ways to manage one’s staff in preparation for growth. Registration is required. For more information, call 412-624-3095 or visit www.monvalleyentrepreneur.pitt.edu.
Women Business Leaders Breakfast
to what can be done here.” Rosalees located in Beaver County, Carolyn says is approximately an hour drive from Pittsburgh and close to the Wexford and Cranberry area. “Our customers come from Allegheny, Butler, Lawrence and Mercer Counties. Ohio and West Virginia.” With the goal to build a bed and breakfast on the property and for Jerome to produce a series of cookbooks, the couple sees a bright future for Rosalees. “With 4,000 cars traveling this area daily, the internationally known entertainers performing here and the customers we serve through my event planning business and the executive chef and culinary skills of Jerome we can only imagine Rosalees Southern Comfort Cuisine in a few years,” says Carolyn. “We are excited.” (Reservations and more information on Rosalees Southern Comfort Cuisine can be obtained by calling 724-847-2056 or www.rosaleessoutherncuisine.com.)
Advancing Entrepreneurship in the Mon Valley
Filthy rich and dangerous, Part 1 by Harry C. Alford
BUSINESS CALENDAR
FEB. 12—The Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Chatham University will host its Women Business Leaders Breakfast Series from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at Chatham University, James Laughlin Music Hall, Woodland Road, Shadyside. The topic of the session is “Mobile Business on the Move” and will feature speakers Kim Schultz of Vantastic Mobile Grooming, Jackee Ging of Style Truck, Michelle Pendel of Farm Truck Foods and Sara Lechman of Miss Meatball. The breakfast series features prominent regional women business leaders presenting a variety of progressive business topics that are essential for women in business. Registration is required. For more information, visit www.chatham.edu/cwe/networking/breakfastseries.
Restaurant owners create event-filled venue tertainment.” Marketed as a BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle) affair the couples special for the evening will be a three-course meal inclusive of soup, salad and entrée of a meat or sea food and a dessert. Upcoming Friday Jazz Supper Nights entertainers include RLM Jazz, Erik Lawrence and Howie Alexander, Betty Douglas and Rex Trimm. Scheduled spring events to date will include a Bridal Boutique Open House March 6 and an enhanced Bride Showcase Fashion and Hair Show April 17. “This is just a sample of activities we are looking to host,” Carolyn pointed out. “We are also planning a music festival, gospel fest and many family fun activities.” She says the facility is open to the public to utilize for art shows, weddings, receptions, parties, business meetings and sports activities. “With 44 acres of land, the sky is the limit
NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER
folks here dozen Forwill take tune 100 you all the companies). way out. That spoke They will volumes. It also seek to demade us stroy you!” aware that One of my there was a first examforce out ples of this there that was during was more the first powerful Clinton Adthan the ministraPresident. tion. The As the “body number two counts” person at under the the Small Clinton AdBusiness ministration Administrastarted to tion was a sister, who UNDER THE RADAR—Harry Alford says that despite multiply and overdecided that personal attacks his advocacy remained strong, and the the SBA he purposely remained under the “radar” of the real w h e l m i n g scandals would no power brokers. started to longer get into the procurement business and appear, it was so clear to me. Forget just concentrate on lending and about the movies, this was the real technical support. That was war to “Empire.” My advocacy remained us and we prepared for battle. We strong, but I purposely remained under raised some serious noise on a na- the “radar” of these real power brokers. So I played this game. A few “jabs” tional basis and this caught the attention of the White House. Some here and a “duck” there, progress elderly guy met with some of our was being made. In fact, our posiprincipals. No one really knew who tions were similar to the platform of he was. But when he realized that President George W. Bush. The prowe were prepared for “war” he made business arena saw talent in me and a suggestion. “If I talked to Bill (the the National Black Chamber of Compresident) and told him if we re- merce. We were on a major roll and moved this lady from her position, considered the voice of Black busithe problem would go away —would ness. Fortune Magazine, the House, that work?” We said yes. Two weeks the Senate and cable television relater she was gone! She went to one ferred to the NBCC to measure the of Vernon Jordan’s companies (He mood of Black business. Then, as Earth, Wind and Fire was a board member for about a
would say: “Something happened along the way and what used to be happy turned sad.” The presidential race for 2008 brought the fiercest political battle in the history of the United States. It wasn’t Democrats versus Republicans any more. It was do or die. There were a lot of organizations: environment, taxation, education, military, labor, economic parity, civil rights, homosexual, etc. But now, there was a major movement to take all of these organizations and classify them as Group 1 and Group 2. Saying liberal or conservative wasn’t enough. Terms like Progressive and Free Market became defining roles. Thus, America and the western world for that matter became divided into two groups of tribes. We, the NBCC, found ourselves classified as Free Market and that was cool to us. The Progressives came up with this project named Barack Hussein Obama. Muslim name, African blood mixed with Caucasian blood and early roots in Islamic Indonesia. It was unique to say the least. So, when the progressive groups like Greenpeace, 1 Percenters, SEIU and other hostile organizations launched a physical attack on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and its members the format was set. They viewed capitalism as their enemy and a socialistic/communistic philosophy as their mantra. The White House was on their side and they would not compromise in the least. The world, as we know it, was about to change. Chaos was in charge! (Harry Alford is the president/CEO, cofounder of the National Black Chamber of Commerce®.)
FEB. 18—The University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence and the University Center for Social and Urban Research, and the Small Business Development Center will host the Advancing Entrepreneurship in the Mon Valley Workshop Series from 5:307:30 p.m. at the Carnegie Library of Homestead, 510 E. 10th Ave., Munhall. This workshop, titled “The First Step: Mechanics of Starting a Small Business,” is designed for individuals who have never operated their own business or who want to take it from their garage to a storefront Attendees will learn the necessary steps to start a new business and how to avoid some common pitfalls. Registration is requested. For more information, call 412-624-3095 or email iee@innovation.pitt.edu.
Pension Workshop MARCH 3—The Small Business Council, along with the African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh North Regional Chamber, will host “The Pension Time Bomb: Is Your Business Prepared?” at 8 a.m. at the Pittsburgh Marriott North, 100 Cranberry Woods Dr., Cranberry. This session, presented by Pa. Auditor General Eugene DePasquale and state Representative John McGinnis, will teach attendees how unfunded $8 billion municipal and $50 billion state pension liabilities will affect one’s business, and what one can do about it. Registration is required. For more information, call Eileen Anderson at 412-342-1606. (To have information on Business Calendar, send information at least two weeks in advance to: 315 E. Carson St., Pittsburgh, PA 15219; Fax: 412-481-1360 or e-mail: newsroom@newpittsburghcourier.com.)
New Pittsburgh Courier
Steelers dominate Super Bowl 50 Golden Team
The Pittsburgh Steelers dominated the Super Bowl 50 Golden Team, announced last Thursday by the NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. To honor Super Bowl 50 between Carolina and Denver, the dream team was voted on by the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors and features eight Steelers, including coach Chuck Noll, the architect of the four Super Bowl champions during the 1970s. The team celebrates Super Bowl performances. Dallas (six) and San Francisco (five), which shared cornerback Deion Sanders and defensive end Charles Haley, had the second- and third-most players on the team. The 26-man team includes 22 who are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and two more—inside linebacker Ray Lewis
and kicker Adam Vinatieri—who are likely to be enshrined. Joining Noll from the Steelers are running back Franco Harris, receiver Lynn Swann, center Mike Webster, defensive tackle Joe Greene, outside linebacker Jack Ham, inside linebacker Jack Lambert and cornerback Mel Bount. Cowboys on the team are Sanders, Haley, running back Emmitt Smith, guard Larry Allen, defensive tackle Randy White and tight end Jay Novacek. Sanders and Haley join the 49ers contingent that includes quarterback Joe Montana, receiver Jerry Rice and safety Ronnie Lott. Oakland placed three on the team—guard Gene Upshaw, tackle Art Shell and punter Ray Guy. Also voted to the offense
SPORTS
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FEBRUARY 3-9, 2016
www.newpittsburghcourier.com
STEELERS REPRESENTED—Lynn Swann (88) and the Steelers dynasty of the 1970s dominated the Super Bowl 50 Golden Team announced. (AP Photo) was Green Bay offensive tackle Forrest Gregg. Other defensive players were New York Giants outside linebacker Lawrence
Taylor and Miami safety Jake Scott. Desmond Howard was voted as the return specialist. “The Super Bowl 50 Golden
Team is an amazing list of incredible individuals,” said Joe Horrigan, the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s executive vice president. “Each name
conjures up memories of some of the sport’s greatest games showcased on its biggest platform—the Super Bowl stage.”
Broncos, Panthers arrive in Bay Area for Super Bowl 50 SAN FRANCISCO (AP)— They’re here. The Denver Broncos arrived in the Bay Area on Sunday for Northern California’s first Super Bowl since 1985, followed soon after by the Carolina Panthers. Denver’s flight into San Jose, California, was delayed by an hour. The team flew in a customized United Airlines jet with a Broncos logo over the door. Someone in the cockpit waved a Broncos flag out of a window as the plane taxied along the tarmac. Former Broncos running back Terrell Davis, the Super Bowl MVP in 1998, met the players as they exited the jet. Panthers All-Pro quarterback Cam Newton emerged from the team plane wearing gold, black and white zebra pants, along with a dark V-neck sweater with a shirt and tie underneath his hooded leather coat. It’s not all that unusual an outfit for him considering Newton has been seen wearing loafers without socks with his suit at postgame interviews. Still, the pants were striking and set social media ablaze. “Dang, Cam wore the exact same outfit as me today,” right tackle Mike Remmers joked on Twitter. Defensive tackle Dwan Edwards flashed the peace sign to the waiting crowd. Carolina’s de-boarding process wasn’t easy at first as the wind caused the steps to the tarmac to wobble signifi-
cantly. At one point, with several players on the stairs, everyone stopped moving in deference to the gusts. Some even put away their cellphones as they traversed the swaying stairs. Then again, it’s San Francisco. The players were in a frivolous mood, and who could blame them? They’re at the Super Bowl. Many jumped into each other’s photos and ruined others’ selfies. The Broncos are in their second Super Bowl in three years; they lost 43-8 to Seat-
tle in 2014 in New Jersey. Carolina has been to one, losing to New England in 2004. Both teams brought their practice squad players and guys on injured reserve. Panthers cornerback Charles Tillman, who recently had knee surgery, slowly climbed the stairs to the plane in Charlotte, helped by a crutch. Thomas Davis, Carolina’s All-Pro linebacker who broke his right forearm in the NFC title game win against Arizona, strapped a video camera to his chest, according to the Panthers’ website.
under the radar,” although he’s pretty sure Von Miller won’t be able to. “No telling with Von, he might come in with one of those crazy hats,” Harris
said. “He’s going to do something crazy.” Miller joked that he might pull a Marshawn Lynch and not answer any questions at all.
MISS UNIVERSE—Carolina Panthers’ Ryan Delaire and Bene’ Benwikere dance with Miss Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach during Super Bowl 50 Opening Night on Monday, Feb. 1, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo)
Inside Conditions…Fanfare for the common man by Aubrey Bruce For New Pittsburgh Courier
IN STYLE???—Carolina Panthers’ Cam Newton gets off the plane at the Mineta San Jose International Airport as they arrive for the NFL Super Bowl football game in San Jose, Calif. The Panthers play the Denver Broncos on Sunday, Feb. 7, in Super Bowl 50. (AP Photo)
Overtime by Bill Neal For New Pittsburgh Courier
:10—I ran into the most dominant basketball player in Pitt University history yesterday…of course it was Sam “Bam” Clancy. And yet my words continue to fall on deaf ears. But “I’ll be Your Huckleberry” (“Doc Holiday”…Wyatt Earp for the lesser of you!) Let’s get it started again. RETIRE SAM CLANCY’S SHIRT!!! Please call the Pitt Athletic Department today. Be very professional. :09—Cam and Carolina win the Bowl 35-21. Take it to the bank. :08—O.K.C. will never win the NBA title as long as “Durrant” and “Westbrook” are together. They both need the ball too much. :07—Fear not little Johnny, the Spurs will be OK and they will win the West over the Warriors. They’re just resting “Duncan.”
Davis had surgery last Monday and expects to play in the Super Bowl. Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. said he was hoping all his teammates “stay
BILL NEAL :06—I don’t know about the news, traffic and weather, but I can tell ya this…WTAE in Pittsburgh has the finest women in town doing work on T.V. Just Google. Oh please, shut up…you know you see it and think it every day. STAND UP, BE A MAN!!! :05—Calvin Johnson, aka “Megatron” is leaving the Lions and $16 million on the table. That tells you the level of pain he must be
playing with. It’s not always about the money. :04—The Pitt Men’s Basketball team put a whoopin’ on Virginia Tech as they should have. Now they’ve got to find a way to beat the Big Dogs. By the way, Jamel Artis will play in the NBA. You heard it here first. He can run, handle, pass, shoot, rebound and “D”. :03—Speaking of Pitt basketball, Coach Suzie McConnell-Serio (Olympian) now has the Lady Panthers in the winning direction. Don’t forget to “Pink the Pete” Feb. 28. Hoo-Rah!!! :02—I know I give you a lot of Pitt basketball…I got roots there. But get down to “The Bluff ” and see the Dukes. They’re on a national roll. :01—Yes, yes, yes Terrell Owens should be a first round Hall of Fame Inductee. If not, it’s criminal, in spite of the glitz and glamour! ~ GAME OVER ~
Hey by the time you read this article, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will have won the Iowa caucuses’ (maybe). One thousand questions will have been asked about the arm strength of the Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, (probably). And last but not least, the Broncos defense will not have enough kryptonite to weaken the super athletic powers of the Carolina Panthers superstar quarterback, halfback, fullback, Cam Newton, (more than likely). Racial purist’s disguised as football fans can drink “haterade’ until their stomachs burst but the Denver Broncos are nearing their final destination as far as the 2015 season is concerned. The Broncos are not destined to be in the winner’s circle when the clock expires on Feb. 7, at the end of Super Bowl 50. If the Broncos win I will stand outside of my downtown Pittsburgh office clothed only in a sheet and will allow the photo to be seen by all of my readers. If Panthers prevail, the first reader to email me will have the opportunity to take me out to lunch and pick my brain about sports and about anything else, (I will leave the tip, any place is good even McDonald’s). If
C a m Newton blows it for me I w i l l c u r s e him to be forced to compete with defl a t e d footballs forever. AUBREY BRUCE I am from the old school. I loved it when I saw the video of Seattle Seahawks All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman dropping an RKO on fellow All-Pro, Green Bay Packers linebacker Clay Matthews during last Sunday’s NFL Pro-Bowl game. With all of the long blonde hair, good ole boy versus the dreadlock thug social values that some people are currently trying to use to divide America as well as sports, it is refreshing to see two grown famous rich athletes, allowing the little boy in them to come out. Forget about dividing and conquering. How about unifying and conquering? Sherman and Matthews may have started a trend of not asking the asinine question, “can’t we all just get along?” as opposed to just getting along. Some of the Twitter “sloggers” seem to be sinking in quicksand mixed with poop. They
want to see White versus Black, Hispanic, Asian, Indians, and Jews: just White against everybody else. Let’s quit trying to dominate, and attempt to reciprocate. May we begin accepting each other’s “trains of thought,” as opposed to insisting that everyone else mirrors one set of ideas and theories? For God sake, football is just a sport! I have not heard any breaking stories concerning any life preserving cures for cancer, diabetes, heart disease or any other health or life threatening disease that emerged from the 2015 NFL Pro-Bowl. I am also certain that at the end of Super Bowl 50, there will be no press conferences held other than to say which team lost and which team won, and why. So to all of you “race-baiting” naysayers out there hiding behind the Internet all I have to say is this; we Americans may lose a few battles but when the smoke clears, whether it is on the football fields or the killing fields, we will stand toe to toe and the melody that we celebrate at the end of the day will not be “Taps” but will always be Aaron Copeland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man.” (Aubrey Bruce can be reached at: abruce@newpittsburghcourier.com or 412-583-6741. Follow him on Twitter@ultrascribe.)
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PEOPLE
First West Side holiday celebration giveaway by Paige K. Mitchell For New Pittsburgh Courier
Many organizations helped spread holiday cheer throughout this past holiday season with the Leave Your Legacy and Josh Gibson Foundations joining forces to hold their “First Annual West Side Holiday Celebration” at Langley K-8 school. “This event came about by sitting around and thinking about how every part of Pittsburgh has places for kids to go and have fun except the West Side,” said Greg McGhee, founder of Leave Your Legacy Foundation. “Also, just the love I have for kids and wanting to give back to my community.“ McGhee, who was a star quarterback for Perry High School, now plays for the B.C. Lions in the CFL. The event started with a celebrity basketball game. The basketball players consisted of local artists, professional CFL players and coaches. A Chinese auction was also held; youth had a chance to win gifts and bicycles. Santa Clause and Steelers Mar-
GREG McGHEE tavis Bryant were there for the children. Toys, food, drinks, and snacks were also available. “We allowed families to enter a room filled with toys and other gifts. Each child
MARTAVIS BRYANT
was given the chance to fill a large bag with toys for their age range,” McGhee said. The Josh Gibson Foundation, Zellious Hope Foundation, Toys for Tots, and
Westside Story 412 LLC. contributed to the holiday celebration. “I feel like everyone was very excited and, most importantly, felt like someone cared about them. This
event was free to everyone and it left a priceless impact on everyone from the organizers to the public,” McGhee said. More than 500 families attended.
“I was a kid at one point who grew up with no role models and starting an empire on my own. I just wanted to give back to the kids and give them a hero to look up to,” McGhee said.
Homer S. Brown Awards move to Ebenezer
RON G. JONES—ACBA Homer S. Brown division chair-elect, giving closing remarks.
QUINNTARRA MORTAN— ACBA Homer S. Brown division chair of the ceremony extending a heartfelt welcome.
Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “Drum Major Instinct” sermon Feb. 4, 1968, at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. So it was only fitting that the Allegheny County Bar Association annual Dr. King Prayer Breakfast and Program be moved to Ebenezer Baptist Church, in the Hill District, after more than 16 successful years at Mt. Ararat Baptist Church in East Liberty. The breakfast is held to commemorate the life of Dr. King and his contributions to the changes in the law and social justice. Among the highlights of the morning is the presentation of the Drum Role for Justice Award to an individual who perpetuates King’s convictions “to make justice, equality and opportunity a reality for all people. The award’s name comes from King’s “Drum Major Instinct” sermon, during which he said. “If you want to say that I was a drum major, say I was a drum major for righteousness.” The honorees were: Lois Mufuka Martin, chief volunteer engagement officer at the United Way of Allegheny County, who received the Drum Major for Justice Award, and Marlene Ellis, who received the Distinguished Service Award. She worked at the ACBA for 27 years.
FAMILY SUPPORT—The Drum Major for Justice awardee, Lois Mufuka Martin, wearing a yellow rose, standing with her family.
FAMILY SUPPORT—The Distinguished Service awardee Marlene H. Ellis, wearing red and a yellow rose, with her family. (Photos by J.L. Martello)
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full-time etail orievant reupport to vertising ude adwerPoint d writing nal skills. markets support ndidates e Eppich .com or d., Pittsone calls Opportu-
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JOB OPPORTUNITIES Help Wanted
South Fayette Twp. School District DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION
Complete job description and an application are available at: www.southfayette.org Please send your application to: South Fayette Twp. School District 3680 Old Oakdale Road McDonald, PA 15057 Please direct any questions to Human Resources at 724-693-3045 Deadline: 4:00 p.m. February 12, 2016 or Until Position is Filled EOE
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SENIOR WEB DEVELOPER
Direct Energy, LP seeks Senior Web Developer in Pittsburgh, PA to monitor & help w/ build automations, deployments & production issues; & develop & test code for complex web based CARS application using MS.Net, C# ASP.Net, VB.Net web development, & some of the latest technologies like JQuery, WCF & VC.Net. Required travel every 2-3 months. To apply & for complete duties & requirements, email resume to apply@directenergy.com w/ job title (Senior Web Developer) and job# (0624601) in subject line. EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability.
RESEARCH ASSISTANT PROFESSOR POSITION UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF MEDICINE DEPARTMENT OF PHARMACOLOGY & CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
The University of Pittsburgh is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer Minorities/Women/Vets/Disabled
JOB OPPORTUNITIES Health Care
HOSPITALIST
University of Pittsburgh Physicians seeks multiple Hospitalists to work at long-term assignments at hospitals throughout Pennsylvania. Requirements: Medical degree; completion of a 3 yr. Internal Medicine residency; valid PA medical license.Apply by visiting http://careers.upmc.com and enter 16000005 in the ʻsearch keyword/Job IDʼ field. EOE M/F/V/D
EPILEPTOLOGIST
University of Pittsburgh Physicians located at U. S. Steel Tower, 57th Floor, 600 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, seeks an Epileptologist to specialize in the treatment of epilepsy, including all aspects of electroencephalography, CCTVEEG monitoring with an emphasis on non-invasive and invasive presurgical evaluations, and the comprehensive medical management of patients with intractable epilepsy to practice at UPMC Presbyterian, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 and Kaufman Medical Building, 3471 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Applicant must have completed 60 months of PGY training, including 1 year of transitional/preliminary, 3 years of neurology, and 1 year fellowship in neurophysiology, be Board Certified in Neurology, and eligible to obtain a Pennsylvania Medical License. Apply by visiting http://careers.upmc.com and enter 1600000Z in the ʻsearch keyword/Job IDʼ field. EOE M/F/V/D COURIER CLASSIFIEDS…THE ONLY WAY TO GO!
Dynamics, Inc. (Cheswick, PA) Resp. for contributng to the devʼt of futre paymnts & card technolgy from the desgn thru producton phase. Dutes: (i) workng w/ the projct team to defne requiremnts & estimte completon times; (ii) collaboratng w/ a small team of developrs in code devʼt activitis, inc. architectre, implementatin, debuggng, documentaton & maintennce; (iii) applyng Agile devʼt processs; (iv) communicatng w/ colleagus in both businss & technicl rols; (v) independntly researchng to learn new skills & keep currnt w/ technologicl devʼt; (vi) designng firmwre for microcontrollrs w/ ISO7816 & ISO14443 interfacs; (vii) designng efficint & robst C code; (viii) integratng softwre with associatd hardwre; (ix) dev.test methds for all aspcts of the prodct & (x) contributng to project documnt reviws & desgn/code revis. Req: Masterʼs deg in Elec., Comp .or Elec. Eng. or Comp. Sci. OR Bachelorʼs deg. in one of the same disciplnes, togethr w/ 5 yrs of progressivly responsble emp. exp. in the pos. offʼd or relatd. Must know (thru acad train or work exp) embedded softwre design using C/C++ in embedded Linux & lowlevel microcontrollrs (Microchip PIC) & peripherls; hardwre design w/ PIC controllr, sensrs, PCB design & layout; & PC softwre devʼt interactng w/ embedded syst. via LAN, Wi-Fi or USB. Send resume via U.S. mail to Dynamics, Inc. Attn: HR, 493 Nixon Rd, Cheswick, PA 15024.
U.S. PROBATION OFFICE (PITTSBURGH) PERSONNEL & PROCUREMENT ASSISTANT
Applications now being accepted for FT Personnel & Procurement Assistant – provides office assistance with both human resources and procurement transactions and maintains accurate records, ensuring strict accuracy and adherence to the applicable policies, regulations, and protocols while preventing legal or personal liability against the court unit executive, the circuit executive and the employee. Bachelorʼs degree plus two years of experience preferred. To apply, must submit cover letter, resume, and completed AO78 found at www.pawp.uscourts.gov. Please reference #16-03 Personnel & Procurement Assistant. Applications being accepted between February 1 to February 29, 2016. EEO. Must be US Citizen or meet requirements. Salary range is $36,193 - $58,806 based on qualifications and experience. NO PHONE CALLS. Only those candidates selected for interview will be contacted. Additional details found on our website. LEGAL ADVERTISING Legal Notices
NOTICE
Applications are now being accepted by the Allegheny County Health Department for the Master and Journeyman Plumber licensing examinations to be held on Wednesday, April 13, 2016. Applications are to be received in the Plumbing Office, Clack Health Center, 3901 Penn Avenue, Building #5, Pittsburgh PA 15224-1318, by Friday, March 18, 2016. Applicants possessing the required qualifications will be notified by mail of the scheduled date, time, and place for the examinations. Applications for or information about these licensing examinations may be obtained from the Plumbing Office by calling (412) 578-8036 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
To place a display ad in the New Pittsburgh Courier call 412-481-8302 ext. 128 or 129
ANNOUNCEMENTS Public Notices
NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY FOR PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT AND PUBLIC HEARING Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Proposed Revisions to the Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy and the Schedule of Tenant Charges
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) is revising its Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy and Schedule of Tenant Charges. The proposed revisions will be available for review from February 1, 2016 to March 1, 2016 at the HACP Operations Department 200 Ross St. 6th Floor, Pittsburgh Pa 15219; the HACP Web Site www.hacp.org; and at HACP Management Offices. Written comments on the proposed revisions must be addressed to Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy and Tenant Charges at the address above and must be received by close of business (5:00 P.M.) on March 1, 2016. Public hearings to receive comments on the Plan will be held on Thursday, February 18th at 10:00 AM and at 5:30 PM at 200 Ross St., 9th floor Board room. Persons with disabilities requiring assistance or alternative formats, or wishing to submit comments in alternative formats, can contact the Disability Compliance Office at 412-4565282, Extension 1; TTY 412-2015384.
COURIER CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS
Applications are invited for a Research Assistant Professor level faculty position in the Department of Pharmacology & Chemical Biology. Candidates who have a PhD, MD or preferably both, or equivalent graduate degrees are being recruited to expand a program in Nrf2 signaling networks. The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Department of Pharmacology & Chemical consistently rank among the top 10 by NIH funding. The successful candidate will be expected to: have excellent communication skills, both oral and written, and to have a strong record of scholarly publications. While all strong applicants will be considered, research interests that complement laboratory interests in Nrf2, Notch1 signaling, metabolic disease and carcinogenesis will be especially competitive. Applicants should mail by 1 March 2016 a one-page statement of research objectives, curriculum vitae, and contact information for three references to: Dr. Thomas W. Kensler, PhD Professor of Pharmacology & Chemical Biology Department of Pharmacology & Chemical Biology University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine E1352 Biomedical Science Tower Pittsburgh, PA 15261 http://www.pharmacology.us
SENIOR FIRMWARE ENGINEERS (MULTIPLE OPENINGS)
America’s Best Weekly 315 East Carson St., Pittsburgh, PA 15219
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NOTICE OF FINDING OF NO SIGNFICANT IMPACT AND NOTICE OF INTENT TO REQUEST RELEASE OF FUNDS
February 3, 2016 City of Pittsburgh-Dept. of City Planning 200 Ross Street Pittsburgh, Pa. 15219 412-255-2211 This notice shall satisfy procedural requirements for activities to be undertaken by the City of Pittsburgh. REQUEST FOR RELEASE OF FUNDS On or about February 18, 2016 the City of Pittsburgh will submit a request to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to release federal funds under Title 1 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 as amended for a real estate project. Garfield Glen Phase II is a nineteen (19) unit scattered-site rental project located on Kincaid, Broad and Dearborn Streets in the Garfield neighborhood of the City of Pittsburgh. The newly constructed units will range in size from two-bedroom to four-bedroom townhomes. The developer is Garfield Glen Housing II, L.P., a special purpose entity consisting of S & A Homes and Bloomfield Garfield Corporation. The federal funding sources utilized on this project are 2014 Low Income Housing Tax Credits and HOME program funds. The projected cost of the activity is $5,924,895. 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 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. Mitigation Required: A combined Phase I and Phase II environmental site assessment was submitted Civil and Environmental Consultants, Inc. on September 16, 2013. The assessment reported on the presence of two underground storage tanks, and two fill ports located on the site. Implementation of the Developerʼs removal and mitigation plan will be carried out prior to any other construction activities. PUBLIC COMMENTS Any individual, group, or agency may submit written comments on the ERR to: Mike Petrucci City of Pittsburgh, 200 Ross Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (412) 255-2211 All comments received by February 18, 2016, 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 HUD 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. HUDʼs approval of the certification satisfies its responsibilities under NEPA and related laws and authorities and allows the Urban Redevelopment Authority to use development funds. OBJECTIONS TO RELEASE OF FUNDS HUD will accept objections to its release of funds and the City of Pittsburgh 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 required by HUD 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 1504 has submitted a written finding that the project 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 Liberty 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
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ALLIES & ROSS MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) FOR TAX CREDIT QUALITY CONTROL CONSULTANT RFQ #2016-08
Allies & Ross Management and Development Corporation (ARMDC), the nonprofit real estate development instrumentality of The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP), hereby request responses from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Tax Credit Quality Control Consultant RFQ #0216-08 The documents will be available no later than January 31, 2016 and signed, sealed proposals will be accepted until 2:00 P.M., February 26, 2016 at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Parties or individuals interested may obtain information from: Mr. Kim Detrick – Procurement Director/Contracting Officer Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 2nd Floor, Suite 200 100 Ross Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-5116, Option 1 or by visiting the Business Opportunities section of www.hacp.org A pre bid meeting will be held: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 200 Ross Street, 9th Fl. Board Room Pittsburgh, PA 15219 February 16, 2015 1:00 P.M. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation. HACPʼs has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation. Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh HACP conducts business in accordance with all federal, state, and local civil rights laws, including but not limited to Title VII, the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, The PA Human Relations Act, etc. and does not discriminate against any individuals protected by these statutes.
ALLIES & ROSS MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS (RFQ) FOR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT AGENT RFQ #2016-07
Allies & Ross Management and Development Corporation (ARMDC), the nonprofit real estate development instrumentality of The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP), hereby request responses from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Property Management Agent RFQ #2016-07 The documents will be available no later than January 31, 2016 and signed, sealed proposals will be accepted until 2:00 P.M., February 26, 2016 at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 Parties or individuals interested may obtain information from: Mr. Kim Detrick – Procurement Director/Contracting Officer Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 2nd Floor, Suite 200 100 Ross Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-5116, Option 1 or by visiting the Business Opportunities section of www.hacp.org A pre bid meeting will be held: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 200 Ross Street, 9th Fl. Board Room Pittsburgh, PA 15219 February 16, 2016 11:00 A.M. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation. HACPʼs has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation. Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh HACP conducts business in accordance with all federal, state, and local civil rights laws, including but not limited to Title VII, the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, The PA Human Relations Act, etc. and does not discriminate against any individuals protected by these statutes.
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HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB) FOR RHVAC REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE REBID IFB# 300-06-16 Rebid
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): RHVAC REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE REBID IFB# 300-06-16 Rebid The documents will be available no later than February 1, 2016 and signed, sealed bids will be accepted until 2:00 p.m. on February 19, 2016 at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, at which time they will be opened and read aloud. Parties or individuals interested in responding may download a copy of the Solicitation from the Business Opportunities page of www.HACP.org. Questions or inquiries should be directed to: Kim Detrick Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-5116 Opt 1 A pre bid meeting will be held: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Dept. 100 Ross Street 2nd. Fl. Ste. 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Thursday, February 11, 2016 2:00 P.M. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation. HACPʼs has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation. Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh HACP conducts business in accordance with all federal, state, and local civil rights laws, including but not limited to Title VII, the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, The PA Human Relations Act, etc. and does not discriminate against any individuals protected by these statutes.
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA January 28, 2016
The Office of the County Controller of Allegheny County, Room 104, Court House, Pittsburgh, PA, will receive separate and sealed Bids until 11:00 A.M. prevailing local time, WEDNESDAY, February 24, 2016, and a representative of the Department of Public Works will open and read the Bids in the Gold Room, Room 410, Court House, Pittsburgh, PA, onehalf hour later, 11:30 oʼclock A.M., for the following: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS South Park Bicycle and Pedestrian Improvements Project, Township of South Park and Municipality of Bethel Park COUNTY PROJECT NO. 5065-0004 PREBID INFORMATION: Purchase and/or view the Proposal, Specifications and Drawings at the Office of the Contract Manager, Room 504, County Office Building, Pittsburgh, PA. The nonrefundable charge for the Proposal and disc containing the Specifications and Drawings is $ 107.00 including sales tax. Bid documents may be mailed for an additional fee of $16.05 including sales tax. The Contract Manager will accept only check or money order to the “COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY.” The Department of Public Works will hold a PreBid Meeting on February 11, 2016 at 1:00 P.M. in Room 505 County Office Building, 542 Forbes Ave., Pgh., Pa. 15219. Details of this project, Bidding Requirements and Contract Conditions are available on the Allegheny County internet website (www.alleghenycounty.us; click on “Departments,” click on “Public Works” then click on “Bids & Proposals)” and are also available on the Pennsylvania Purchasing Group/PAPG website (www.PAbidsystem.com; click on “bid opportunities;” then click on “Allegheny County-Dept. of Public Works-open documents” – then register if necessary). Chelsa Wagner Controller County of Allegheny
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
The Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) recently issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to create Tableau visualizations to enhance data dissemination. For more details and submission information, visit: www.alleghenycounty.us/HumanServices/Resources/Doing-Business/ Solicitations-(RFP/RFQ/RFI).aspx. Marc Cherna, Director Allegheny County Department of Human Services
LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT Port Authority of Allegheny County REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NO. 16-04
Port Authority of Allegheny County (Authority) is requesting proposals for the performance of the following services: PROPERTY AND CASUALTY RISK MANAGEMENT SERVICES Authority is requesting proposals to provide consulting services (Contract Services) to support Authorityʼs property and casualty risk management programs, including, but not limited to, the design and marketing of operational insurance coverages, evaluation of insurance proposals, placement of insurance coverages, and advising on insurance requirements for Authority and Authorityʼs contractors and vendors. The services will be performed within two categories: Core Contract Services that will support the Authorityʼs ongoing risk management activities continuously throughout the term of the Agreement, and Special Contract Services that will address specific tasks or projects that are not included in the Core Contract Services. All Contract Services will be authorized by Work Orders negotiated by Authority and the selected proposer (Contractor) and approved to proceed by Authority. The Agreement will be for an initial period of three (3) years, with the option to extend up to two (2) additional years at Authorityʼs sole discretion. A copy of the RFP will be available on or after February 3, 2016, and can be obtained by registering at the Port Authority ebusiness website: http://ebusiness.portauthority.org and following the directions listed on the website. Please note that Proposers must register under the ebusiness category of Vendor Sourcing Sub-Category: PSIRM Pro Insurance/OCIP/Risk Mgmt for this RFP. Proposers may also register in other categories for any future RFPs issued by Authority. If you have specific questions regarding this RFP, please contact Robert Sechler at (412) 566-5148. An Information Meeting for interested parties will be held at 9:30 p.m. prevailing time, February 16, 2016 in the Fifth Floor Board Room of Port Authority of Allegheny Countyʼs downtown offices, 345 Sixth Avenue to answer any questions regarding this RFP. Hard copy proposals must be delivered by 2:00 p.m., prevailing time, March 15, 2016 to the Purchasing and Materials Management Department, Port Authority of Allegheny County, 345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222-2527. These Contract Services may be funded, in part, by, and subject to certain requirements of, the County of Allegheny and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The proposal process and the performance of the requested services will be in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Port Authority of Allegheny County, in compliance with 74 Pa.C.S. § 303, as may be amended, require that certified Diverse Businesses (“DBs”) have the maximum opportunity to participate in the performance of contracts and subcontracts for these Contract Services. In this regard, all Proposers shall make good faith efforts in accordance with 74 Pa.C.S. § 303, to ensure that DBs have the maximum opportunity to compete for and perform contracts. Proposers shall also not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, disability, national origin, sexual origin, gender identity or status as a parent in the award and performance of contracts for these Contract Services. Port Authority of Allegheny County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
The City of Pittsburgh, Office of the Controller is seeking an electronic payment (E-Payables) solution that will allow vendors to receive electronic payments instead of paper checks after submitting invoices to the City for payment. Interested parties may obtain a copy for the Request for Proposal (RFP) at the City Controllerʼs Office, 1st Floor City-County Building, 414 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, or by emailing anthony.dabruzzo@pittsburghpa.gov. Responses will be accepted until Friday, March 4, 2016, at 4 PM EST.
INVITATION FOR BIDS
The URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY of Pittsburgh will receive bids from qualified contractors for the removal of concrete and asphalt pavement, filling of abandoned sidewalk vaults, removal of trash and debris, and all work incidental thereto required to complete Brighton Heights Demolition and Site Clearance Contract No. 1 REBID, until 11:00 a.m. prevailing time on Wednesday, the 24th day of February, 2016, at its office, 11th floor, 200 Ross Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219, at which time all bids will be publicly opened and read aloud in the Conference Room on the 11th floor. A hard copy of the contract documents will be available for inspection on Wednesday, February 3, 2016, in the Engineering and Construction Department, 11th Floor, 200 Ross Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219. Upon a non-refundable payment of FIVE ($5.00) made payable to the URA of Pittsburgh, a CD-ROM containing a copy of the documents in digital format will be available for purchase. CHECK OR MONEY ORDER ONLY. Contract documents will not be mailed. A pre-bid meeting will be held on site at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, February 11, 2016. This will be the only opportunity for potential bidders to visit and inspect the site. Interested parties should meet at the intersection of Antrim Street and Fleming Avenue. A certified check or bank draft payable to the order of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, negotiable U.S. Government Bonds (at par value), or a satisfactory bid bond, executed by the Bidder and an acceptable surety in a dollar amount equal to 5% of the total bid, shall be submitted. Each bid submittal must include the Bid, Noncollusion Affidavit of Prime Bidder, Bid Bond, Statement of Bidders Qualifications, and Certification of Minority and Womenʼs Participation with Exhibits. Wages paid on this project shall not be less than the minimum wages determined by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry as set forth in the contract documents. The Contractor will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity requirements. The Contractor must assure that applicants and employees are not discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religious creed, handicap, ancestry, national origin, age or sex. The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh requires that all bidders complete and submit Certification of Minority and Womenʼs Participation with Exhibits. The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh reserves the right to reject any or all bids or to waive any informality in the bidding. Bids may be held by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days from the date of opening of bids for the purpose of reviewing the bids prior to awarding the Contract. URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF PITTSBURGH Robert Rubinstein Acting Executive Director February 3, 2016
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INVITATION FOR BIDS
The URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY of Pittsburgh will receive bids from qualified contractors for restroom renovations on the 6th, 10th, 12th & 13th floors of the Civic Building, and all work incidental thereto required to complete Civic Building Restroom Renovations until 11:00 a.m. prevailing time on Thursday, the 25th day of February, 2016, at its office, 11th floor, 200 Ross Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219, at which time all bids will be publicly opened and read aloud in the Conference Room on the 11th floor. Contract documents will be available on Friday, February 5, 2016, in the Engineering and Construction Department, 11th Floor, 200 Ross Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15219, upon a non-refundable payment of THIRTY ($30.00) DOLLARS made payable to the URA of Pittsburgh. CHECK OR MONEY ORDER ONLY. Contract documents will not be mailed. A pre-bid meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 16, 2016 at 1:00 pm, in the 11th floor conference room of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, 200 Ross Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. A certified check or bank draft payable to the order of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh, negotiable U.S. Government Bonds (at par value), or a satisfactory bid bond, executed by the Bidder and an acceptable surety in a dollar amount equal to 5% of the total bid, shall be submitted. Each bid submittal must include the Bid, Noncollusion Affidavit of Prime Bidder, Bid Bond, Statement of Bidders Qualifications, and Certification of Minority and Womenʼs Participation with Exhibits. Wages paid on this project shall not be less than the minimum wages determined by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry as set forth in the contract documents. The Contractor will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity requirements. The Contractor must assure that applicants and employees are not discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religious creed, handicap, ancestry, national origin, age or sex. The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh requires that all bidders complete and submit Certification of Minority and Womenʼs Participation with Exhibits. The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh reserves the right to reject any or all bids or to waive any informality in the bidding. Bids may be held by the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh for a period not to exceed ninety (90) days from the date of opening of bids for the purpose of reviewing the bids prior to awarding the Contract. URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF PITTSBURGH Robert Rubinstein Acting Executive Director February 5, 2016 COURIER CLASSIFIEDS...THE ONLY WAY TO GO
FORM OF ADVERTISEMENT
PUBLICATION DATE: February 2, 2016 1. The Public Parking Authority of Pittsburgh (“Authority”) shall accept sealed bids for the performance of the work described below (the “Work”) at its office at 232 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222, until 11:00 a.m. local time on Thursday, February 25, 2016. 2. DESCRIPTION OF WORK: The Project entails repair and preventative maintenance of the roof level parking deck at the First Avenue Garage and Station. Repairs include full and partial depth floor slab repairs, partial depth beam and column repairs, waterproofing membrane application, and joint sealant replacement. 3. The Instructions to Bidders, including the Form of Bid, Form of Agreement, General Conditions, Plans and Specifications, may be obtained after 3:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, February 2, 2016 at the Authorityʼs office at 232 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222. Copies of the Plans and Specifications will be available for a non-refundable amount of $50.00. Payments are to be made payable to the Public Parking Authority of Pittsburgh via check or money order only. 4. A Mandatory pre-bid conference will be held at the Authorityʼs office at 232 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222 at 10:00 a.m. local time on Thursday, February11, 2016. The purpose of the prebid conference is to provide additional detail regarding the Work. The information provided at the pre-bid conference will be essential in preparing a bid to perform the Work. Persons or entities that intend to submit bids to perform the Work are required to send to the pre-bid conference at least one representative who will understand the information presented at the pre-bid conference in a manner that allows such information to be incorporated in the preparation of the bid to perform the Work. It is expected that the representative who attends the pre-bid conference will be experienced in construction matters and employed by the bidder in a supervisory capacity. Pre-bid attendance is mandatory. 5. Sealed bids received prior to the deadline will be publicly opened and read at 11:00 a.m. local time on Thursday, February 25, 2016. 6. Each bid submitted must be accompanied by a bid guaranty of ten percent (10%) of the proposed bid in the form of a bid bond, certified cashierʼs or treasurerʼs check payable to the Authority. 7. The Authority reserves the right to in its sole discretion, (i) change, at any time prior to the bid deadline at 11:00 a.m. local time on Thursday, February 25, 2016 the Contract Documents; (ii) waive any defect, irregularities, or informality in any or all submitted bids; and (iii) reject any or all submitted bids. David G. Onorato Executive Director
DOCUMENT 00030-AA ADVERTISEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Separate and sealed Proposals will be received at the Office of the Senior Manager of Procurement, Allegheny County Airport Authority, Department of Procurement, Pittsburgh International Airport, Landside Terminal, 4th Floor Mezz, P.O. Box 12370, Pittsburgh, PA 15231-0370 until 1:00 P.M. prevailing local time, MARCH 2, 2016, and bids will be publicly opened and read by the Airport Authority in Conference Room A, Pittsburgh International Airport, Landside Terminal, 4th Floor Mezz, P.O. Box 12370, Pittsburgh, PA 15231-0370, one half hour later, for the following: ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY PROJECT NUMBER 53G1-15- REBID- GENERAL SOUTH MATRIX BHS OPTIMIZATION PROJECT PROJECT NUMBER 53E1-15-REBID - ELECTRICAL SOUTH MATRIX BHS OPTIMIZATION PROJECT PROJECT NUMBER 53H1-15-REBID - HVAC SOUTH MATRIX BHS OPTIMIZATION PROJECT PROJECT NUMBER 53FP/P1-15-REBID – FIRE PROTECTION / PLUMBING SOUTH MATRIX BHS OPTIMIZATION PROJECT & PROJECT NUMBER 53G2-14-REBID - GENERAL SOUTH MATRIX BHS MAKE UP UNIT 1, 2 AND 5 REPLACEMENT PROJECT NUMBER 53G3-14-REBID - GENERAL OUTBOUND CURBSIDE BAGGAGE ACCESS DOOR REPLACEMENT AT PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
ELECTRICAL PROJECT 53E1-15 -REBID– The Electrical bidder shall be required to request an application to purchase bidding documents. No Electrical bidding documents will be sold without a completed and Authority approved application. The application must be obtained by calling 412-472-3543 or 412472-3779 or by e-mail to: msimmeth@flypittsburgh.com or vculbreath@flypittsburgh.com and requesting an application. The Electrical bidding documents must be purchased in person and under the terms set forth in the application package. NO MAIL REQUESTS FOR ELECTRICAL BIDDING DOCUMENTS WILL BE HONORED. The Allegheny County Airport Authority reserves the right to refuse sale of the Electrical Bid Documents until it receives an acceptable application for purchase. The Electrical Bidding Documents will not be made available to advertisers. A pre-bid conference will be held in Conference Room A, Fourth Floor, in the Landside Building, Pittsburgh International Airport, at 1:00 p.m., on FEBRUARY 9, 2016. Attention is called to the fact that not less than the minimum salaries and wages as determined by the General Wage Determinations issued under the Davis-Bacon and related Acts must be paid on these projects. Proposals must be made on the Authorityʼs form and in accordance with the Plans and Specifications and the “Instructions to Bidders”ʼ. The non-refundable charge for the Bid Documents and a Disk containing the Plans and Specifications is $150.00; mailing (WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE ELECTRICAL BIDDERS) can be arranged for an additional $75.00 charge. Bidders are notified that Buy American Act and Pennsylvania Steel Products Procurement Act apply to this project and will be strictly enforced. This project has DBE participation goals; DBE firms must be certified with the Pennsylvania Unified Certification Program) (PA UCP). Firms must be certified prior to award of contract. A searchable database of DBE firms can be found on the PA UCP web site: http://www.paucp.com The Airport Authority reserves the right to reject any and all bids or waive any informalities in the bidding. No bidder may withdraw his bid for a period of sixty [60] days after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids. To view a complete advertisement, which is also included in the bidding documents visit www.flypittsburgh.com under doing business with us – business opportunities or call 412-472-3543 or 412-472-3779. Christina A. Cassotis Chief Executive Officer ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY COURIER CLASSIFIEDS…THE ONLY WAY TO GO
PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY
Electronic Proposals will be received online at the Port Authority of Allegheny Countyʼs Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness.portauthority.org). Proposals/bid submittals will be due 11:00 AM on February 19, 2016 and will be read at 11:15 AM., the same day, in Port Authorityʼs Public Meeting Room, 345 Sixth Avenue, Fifth Floor, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222-2527, for the following: Electronic Proposal - Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness.portauthority.org) B150425RR Cummins Replacement Engines B150637AR Coach Replacement Parts–Suspension B151288 Manchester Waterjet Cutter B151289A Turbochargers–Cummins Engines B151290A Coach Replacement Parts–Air Conditioning Paper Proposal – Documents are available for the following item at Port Authorityʼs Main Offices 345 Sixth Avenue, Third Floor, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania 15222-2527 B151291A Off-Site Record Storage and Services No bidder may withdraw a submitted Proposal for a period of 75 days after the scheduled time for opening of the sealed bids. A Pre-Bid Conference will be held on each of the above items at 10:00am on February 2, 2016 in the Port Authorityʼs Public Meeting Room, 345 Sixth Avenue, Fifth Floor, Pittsburgh, PA. Attendance at this meeting is not mandatory, but is strongly encouraged. Questions regarding any of the above bids will not be entertained by the Port Authority within 48 hours of the scheduled bid opening. These contracts may be subject to a financial assistance contract between Port Authority of Allegheny County and the United States Department of Transportation. The Contractor will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity laws and regulations. Contractor is responsible for expenses related to acquiring a performance bond and insurance where applicable. All items are to be FOB delivered unless otherwise specified. Costs for delivery, bond, and insurance shall be included in bidderʼs proposal pricing. Port Authority of Allegheny County hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively insure that in regard to any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprise will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award. The Board of Port Authority reserves the right to reject any or all bids.
OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION Of the SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH
Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Room 251, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on February 23, 2016 until 2:00 p.m., local prevailing time for: Pgh. Brashear H. S. New Science Labs General, Asbestos, Plumbing, HVAC and Electrical Primes Clayton Academy Science Labs General, Asbestos, Plumbing, HVAC and Electrical Primes Pgh. Colfax K-8 PA and Auditorium Sound Systems Electrical Prime Pgh. Liberty K-5 Ceiling Fans Electrical Prime Pgh. Westinghouse 6-12 Public Safety Lab General, Plumbing, HVAC and Electrical Primes Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on January 25 and February 5, 2016 at Modern Reproductions (412-488-7700) 127 McKean Street, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15219 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The cost of the Project Manual Documents is nonrefundable. Project details and dates are described in each project manual.
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HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR Technical Accounting RFP#150-04-16
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Technical Accounting RFP#150-04-16 The documents will be available no later than January 25, 2016 and signed, sealed proposals will be accepted until 11:00 A.M., February 12, 2016 at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Parties or individuals interested may obtain information from: Mr. Kim Detrick – Procurement Director/ Contracting Officer Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 2nd Floor, Suite 200 100 Ross Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-5116, Option 1 or by visiting the Business Opportunities section of www.hacp.org A pre bid meeting will be held: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 February 4, 2016 11:00 A.M. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation. HACPʼs has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation. Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh HACP conducts business in accordance with all federal, state, and local civil rights laws, including but not limited to Title VII, the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, The PA Human Relations Act, etc. and does not discriminate against any individuals protected by these statutes.
ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA January 15, 2016
The Office of the County Controller of Allegheny County, Room 104, Court House, Pittsburgh, PA, will receive separate and sealed Bids until 11:00 A.M. prevailing local time, WEDNESDAY, February 10, 2016, and a representative of the Department of Public Works will open and read the Bids in the Gold Room, Room 410, Court House, Pittsburgh, PA, onehalf hour later, 11:30 oʼclock A.M., for the following: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS 2016 Capital Bridge Repair Contract various bridges within various municipalities COUNTY PROJECT NO. AA00-2016 PREBID INFORMATION: Purchase and/or view the Proposal, Specifications and Drawings at the Office of the Contract Manager, Room 504, County Office Building, Pittsburgh, PA. The nonrefundable charge for the Proposal and disc containing the Specifications and Drawings is $ 107.00 including sales tax. Bid documents may be mailed for an additional fee of $16.05 including sales tax. The Contract Manager will accept only check or money order to the “COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY.” The Department of Public Works will hold a PreBid Meeting on January 27, 2016 at 10:00 A.M. in Room 505 County Office Building, 542 Forbes Ave., Pgh., Pa. 15219. Details of this project, Bidding Requirements and Contract Conditions are available on the Allegheny County internet website (www.alleghenycounty.us; click on “Departments,” click on “Public Works” then click on “Bids & Proposals)” and are also available on the Pennsylvania Purchasing Group/PAPG website (www.PAbidsystem.com; click on “bid opportunities;” then click on “Allegheny County-Dept. of Public Works-open documents” – then register if necessary). Chelsa Wagner Controller County of Allegheny
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HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR Video Audio Training RFP#800-02-16
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Video Audio Training RFP#800-02-16 The documents will be available no later than January 25, 2016 and signed, sealed proposals will be accepted until 10:00 A.M., February 12, 2016 at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Parties or individuals interested may obtain information from: Mr. Kim Detrick – Procurement Director/ Contracting Officer Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 2nd Floor, Suite 200 100 Ross Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-5116, Option 1 or by visiting the Business Opportunities section of www.hacp.org A pre bid meeting will be held: Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street, 2nd Floor, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 February 4, 2016 10:00 A.M. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation. HACPʼs has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and 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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1901 CENTRE AVE K LEROY IRVIS TOWERS 715 MERCER ST SHOP & SAVE SUPERMARKET 1850 CENTRE AVE ABE’S MARKET 1860 CENTRE AVE WYLIE TOBACCO 2152 WYLIE AVE DOWNTOWN: KWIK-E-MART 212-10TH ST 7-11 #167 643 LIBERTY AVE 7-11 #165 SIXTH & PENN AVE 7-11 #170 429 WOOD ST ESTER’S SNAX FEDERAL BUILDING, 2ND FL SMITHFIELD NEWS 115 SMITHFIELD ST CITY NEWS & ARCADE 422 WOOD ST FABER COE & GREGG 500 GRANT ST FABER COE & GREGG FIFTH AVE. PLACE FABER COE & GREGG 600 GRANT ST NIELSEN’S STORES #09 301 GRANT ST— ONE OXFORD CENTER NIELSEN’S STORES #13 437 SEVENTH AVE— KOPPERS BUILDING 9TH & PENN NEWS-NUMBERS 136 PENN AVE EXTRA EXTRA NEWS 413 SEVENTH AVE NEAL NEWS 400 CHERRY WAY CVS PHARMACY #4120 610-612 WOOD ST C&C NEWS 2 PPG PLACE NEWSTAND SIXTH & WOOD ONE STOP 300 SIXTH & WOOD EDDIE’S SNACKS 262 5TH AVE BIG DADDY 465 FORBES AVE 711 SMITHFIELD 420 SMITHFIELD ST NORTHERN AREA: W. N. GROCERY 1018 NORTH AVE. NORTH SIDE BEER & BEVERAGE
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Classifieds 412-481-8302 Ext. 140 E-mail: ads@newpittsburgh courier.com Deadline/Closing/ Cancellation Schedule for copy, corrections, and cancellations: Friday noon preceding Wednesday publication