August 2022 Est. 1985
The Northside Chronicle
Volume 38 Issue 8 - FREE -
The Community Newspaper of Pittsburgh’s Historic Northside
Northside Business Briefs: August 2022 Urban Impact Foundation and The Pittsburgh Project announce facilities purchase Urban Impact Foundation announced in a press release the purchase of two facilities on the campus of The Pittsburgh Project located at 2801 N. Charles St. The agreement includes the school building and the dormitory. The sale closed in late May and included each ministry’s mutual dedication and commitment to one another, the North Side, and the long-term sustainability of each organization as they work together to affect positive outcomes in the community. The Pittsburgh Project signed a multi-year lease retaining its presence in the school building and will continPhoto by Lauren Stauffer
Allegheny Commons Park buzzed with musicians, artists, food trucks, and festival-goers during Deutschtown Music Festival’s 10th annual weekend-long event. In addition to three park stages, the festival hosted nearly 400 musical acts over 27 locations throughout lower Northside.
Northsider recognized for outstanding work in animal welfare
By Matthew Benusa
Photo courtesy of Urban Impact
Aerial of the Pittsburgh Project’s campus, located on North Charles Street.
ue to operate programming for the neighborhood, which were essential components of the agreement. “The Pittsburgh Project team is excited to continue to work alongside Urban Impact in service of the young people and families of the North Side,” stated Rick Mason, Executive Director of The Pittsburgh Project. Urban Impact will now have a central location for its staff and additional program See Briefs, Page 11
INSIDE
A local Northsider has won an award for her work to protect some of our cutest neighbors. Tara Czekaj of Brighton Heights was recently presented with The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) Pennsylvania Humane Policy Leader of the Year award for her work alongside Carol Whaley to help pass legislation in Pittsburgh that bans the declawing of cats. “The Humane Society of the United States is thrilled to celebrate the work of our Humane Policy Volunteer Leaders. Exceptional leaders like Carol [Whaley] and Tara [Czekaj] partner with community stakeholders, identify animal welfare and animal legislation gaps, and work with local legislators to address those gaps. These efforts help to
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build an even stronger platform of protection for all animals,” said Kristen Tullo, HSUS PA State Director. Winning the award, usually given to one or two volunteer policy leaders for their exceptional achievements in animal protection legislation, was a total surprise, according to Czekaj. She said that passing the ban was an accomplishment in itself, especially considering the harm declawing does to cats. “The act of declawing is actually an amputation,” Czekaj said. “A lot of people don’t realize that. They think it’s a nail removal or trim.” Declawing a cat causes an immense amount of pain over the cat’s life and can lead to long-term issues such as infection, litter box aversion, biting, and aggression.
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However, it’s not just cats that are protected by this legislation: It safeguards the limited resources of cat caretakers too. “Two of the top reasons cats are surrendered [to rescues and shelters]”, Czekaj added, “are litter box aversion and biting, so they come into shelters as essentially unadoptable.” As part of her volunteer policy work, Czekaj often interfaces with local, state, and federal leaders. She praised Councilman Bobby Wilson for his compassion and understanding of the issue. In his October 2021 newsletter for The Northside Chronicle, Wilson wrote that he was introducing the legislation to ban declawing. “This is a cruel procedure that causes our cats a lifetime of pain and discomfort,” wrote Wilson. “If this happened to one of us, See Animal Welfare, Page 9
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