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JANUARY 13-19, 2021

Homicides increase in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County in 2020 87 of 107 lives lost were African Americans

MAKEIDA THOMPSON, 32, an Allegheny County juvenile probation officer, was killed inside her East Liberty home on Nov. 10, 2020.

by Rob Taylor Jr.

ZYKIER YOUNG, 1, was killed inside an apartment by a stray MICAH GRAHAM, 16, a Woodland Hills High School basketball bullet from outside in the Spring Hill neighborhood on Aug. 24, player, was killed at a park in Swissvale on Nov. 5, 2020.

2020.

tionally from 2019 to 2020, the Steel City was not spared.

In 2019, Pittsburgh saw 37 homicides, the lowest number in 20 years. But in 2020, the homicide total in the city was 51. In Allegheny County, the 2020 total was 107, an increase of 12 from 2019. The number of African Americans killed in Allegheny County was 87, or 81 percent of the total number in 2020.

Chicago, the Windy City, had a 50 percent jump in homicides, to more than 750 in 2020. Los Angeles had a 30 percent increase with 322 homicides. New

Courier Staff Writer

Was it the stress of the coronavirus pandemic that saw homicides increase in numerous U.S. cities in 2020?

Was it the stress related to the police killings of African Americans Breonna Taylor in Louisville, George Floyd in Minneapolis and Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta?

Was it both? Was it neither?

2020 was a trying year, for sure, and no matter what the reason for the increase in homicides na-

York City saw 437 homicides, a more-than 40 percent jump.

Pittsburgh’s in-state brethren, Philadelphia, saw almost 500 homicides in 2020, the first time since 1990 that homicides were that high.

“We have good data that the rise in murder was happening in the early stages of the pandemic. We have good data that the rise in murder picked up in the early stages of the summer,” said Jeff Asher, a crime data analyst based in New Orleans, reported

by National Public Radio. “And we also have good data that the

rise of murder picked up again in September and October as some of the financial assistance started to wear off.”

For almost 15 years, the New Pittsburgh Courier has published the homicide totals in Allegheny County in our newspaper, not shying away from the fact that Black-on-Black crime is literally killing our community.

Our kids are dying. Our women are dying. Our men are dying.

Families are forever being altered. Our communities get tarnished in the media, a stain that takes decades to rid.

We applaud all of the people, all of the local organizations that feverishly fight against this gun violence. We know that change doesn’t happen overnight.

Change takes time. But Blackon-Black gun violence needs to be put on the forefront in addressing now. We don’t have time for this violence to lessen over the course of decades. It’s time to put the guns down now, replace the beefs with cooler heads, and let’s get back to being a true “community.”

SEE HOMICIDES A2

Housing Authority to purchase new RV, providing even more Internet access to residents

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

A new retrofitted RV will soon be coming to various Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh locations, connecting residents to the Internet, thus continuing the HACP’s goal of increased digital literacy for its residents.

Michelle Sandidge, HACP chief community affairs officer, told the New Pittsburgh Courier on Jan. 12 that the RV will be purchased in the coming weeks, and in use for residents in late spring or early summer. The RV was funded with a $150,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation.

While there are computer labs at some HACP community sites, the RV will travel to the locations without a computer lab, and to locations that have

“challenging Internet access, due to the Pittsburgh topography,” Sandidge said.

The RV will include a space for laptops, Wifi hotspots, computer screens, and a presentation monitor. It will be fully mobile, and will have COVID-19 safeguards in place. Sandidge said up to eight people can use the inside of the RV at once, but more people can participate in larger public events, such as “computer class on the lawn,” she said.

“This is an opportunity that we’re very grateful for,” said HACP Executive Director Caster D. Binion, in a statement. “We set out to bridge the digital divide in 2017 when we formally launched ConnectHomePgh with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the

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CASTER D. BINION, executive director, Housing Authority of the MICHELLE SANDIDGE, chief community affairs officer, Housing City of Pittsburgh.

Authority of the City of Pittsburgh.

City of Pittsburgh. However, 2020 has further reinforced the critical need for households of all income levels to have Internet access and this support will allow us to scale up our programs and bring us closer to that goal.”

The HACP identified digital literacy and connectivity as “essential needs” for residents’ households during the pandemic.

“The pandemic has made the impacts of the digital divide even more acute,” said Sam Reiman, Direc-

tor of the Richard King Mellon Foundation, in a statement. “Access to the Internet is an essential component of access to opportunity. We are pleased to support HACP’s innovative approach to bridging the digital divide.”

The RV is a continuation of the HACP bringing Internet services to its residents. The agency partnered with Comcast and is providing its “Internet Essentials” services at no SEE INTERNET A3

A2

METRO

JANUARY 13-19, 2021

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

The year 2020 sees increase in Allegheny County homicides to 107 HOMICIDES FROM A1

DEC. 5—MADISON PAIGE GILROY, a 22-year-old Black female, was shot and killed while leaving the True Diamonds Gentlemen’s Club in McKees Rocks. The shooting occurred around 4:30 a.m. A suspect has been arrested.

DEC. 15—JAFAR BROOKS, a 15-year-old Black male, was shot and killed on Garden Drive in Penn Hills. The shooting occurred around 12:40 a.m.

Brooks had attended Central Catholic High School and was the grandson of Rashad Byrdsong, a community leader who is the CEO of the Community Empowerment Association in Homewood.

DEC. 22—DERIC DAVIS, a 53-year-old Black male, died as a result of a stab wound, according to medical examiners’ first reports. Davis, who had been missing for more than a week, was found in Brighton Heights, his body wrapped in plastic.

DEC. 29—DAMON LINCOLN, a 24-year-old Black male, was shot during a home invasion in the 200 block of Anthony Street in Mt. Oliver around 11:40 p.m. on Dec. 28. He died a short time later at UPMC Mercy.

NOV. 1—MALIK ALLEN, a 24-year-old Black male, was shot and killed during an incident on Beltzhoover Avenue near Edgemont Street in Allentown. Two other people died the day before as a result of the shooting incident.

NOV. 1—DERRICK M. STANFORD, a 31-yearold Black male, died during an incident in Pittsburgh.

NOV. 4—LAVONTE MARTEL HOWARD, a 28-year-old Black male, was shot and killed while inside a vehicle in the 5700 block of Jackson Street in Highland Park. The shooting occurred around 8 p.m.

NOV. 5—MICAH GRAHAM, a 16-year-old Black male, was shot and killed at a park in Swissvale. He was a member of the Woodland Hills High School basketball team. Rena Halsel, Graham’s grandmother, told the Tribune-Review in Nov. 2020 that Graham was “full of life all the time.

He was a beautiful person.

All he wanted to do was play basketball and live his life.” There are no suspects in the shooting death as of yet.

NOV. 7—THEODORE B. JONES, a 52-year-old Black male, was shot and killed at his home in the 1500 block of Beech Street in North Braddock. An

18-year-old has been arrested in connection with the shooting death.

NOV. 9—ERNEST NEVIN MILLS JR., a 28-yearold Black male, was shot and killed while walking with his significant other on Brighton Road and Davis Avenue on the North Side. Police said a 24-yearold man who lived in the same multi-family home as Mills was responsible for the shooting.

NOV. 10—MAKEIDA THOMPSON, a 32-yearold Black female, was shot and killed, police said, by the father of her youngest child, as she sat in her East Liberty home. Thompson was a juvenile probation officer for Allegheny County. The man who police say was responsible for Thompson’s death was arrested in Seattle.

NOV. 10—WILLIAM LEE JR., a 33-year-old Black male, was shot and killed at the Bedford Dwellings apartment complex in the Hill District.

The shooting occurred around 8 p.m. in the 2400 block of Chauncey Drive.

NOV. 16—MYQUANDRE STEVENSON, a 23-year-old Black male, died after a shooting occurred around 10:30 p.m. along Brownsville Road in Carrick. Stevenson was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

NOV. 17—RANDY EDWARDS, a 33-year-old Black male, was shot and killed in the 2500 block of Bedford Avenue around 11 a.m. A second person was also shot, but survived.

NOV. 22—EMANUEL DESHAWN JOHNSON, a 35-year-old Black male, was found shot and dead inside a vehicle on Rebecca Avenue. The shooting occurred around 7:50 p.m.

Another person was also shot in the incident.

NOV. 23—SYNCERE SPRUILL, an a18-yearold Black male, was shot just before midnight in the 200 block of Conroy Way in Tarentum. He was taken to Allegheny Valley Hospital where he died the following day.

NOV. 25—GEORGE BUCHANAN, a 27-yearold Black male, was shot in the hip in the 900 block of Third Street in McKees Rocks. He died at the hospital a short time later.

OCT. 6—FRANCISCO J. SANCHEZ, a 31-yearold Hispanic male, was shot and killed after a disagreement in Troy Hill.

Police say a 65-year-old man was responsible for the shooting death, though police say the man said he was acting in self-defense.

OCT. 7—NAEKWON NIEEM WRIGHT, a 24-year-old Black male, was shot and killed on Clifford Street in Lincoln-Lemington. The shooting occurred around 11:40 p.m.

OCT. 7—SAHEED GAYLE, a 20-year-old Black male, was shot and killed while working at Monroeville Mall. A man turned himself in and faces homicide charges.

OCT. 15—DEMARCO MAHONE, a 26-year-old Black male, was shot on North Franklin Street in Manchester around 7:45 p.m., Oct. 14. He was taken to the hospital, where he died the next day. A man has been arrested in the shooting death.

OCT. 23—DEONDRE STEWART, a 20-year-old Black male, was shot while leaving a Halloween party in Penn Hills. He died after being taken to UPMC Presbyterian.

OCT. 24—NELSON LINCOLN, a 30-year-old Black male, was shot and killed on Midway Drive in West Mifflin. The shooting occurred around 2:20 a.m.

Lincoln was a resident of West Mifflin.

OCT. 31—LAFFAYETTE ANTHONIE GORDON, a 21-year-old Black male, and JOSEPH HENDRICKS, a 17-year-old Black male, were shot and killed during an incident on Beltzhoover Avenue near Edgemont Street in Allentown.

SEPT. 1—MARQUE YELLETS, a 29-year-old Black male, was shot and killed after a home invasion in Wilkinsburg. A man who police say was the shooter was arrested in October 2020.

SEPT. 5—JONATHAN ROBERTS, a 53-yearold Black male, was killed during an incident in Fineview. Roberts was a Central Catholic High School graduate and had attended Conley Trade School and became a carpenter.

SEPT. 15—JOHN ELLIS, a 51-year-old Black male, died after being shot in Wilkinsburg more than four years prior. The shooting that occurred at 1304 Franklin Avenue that left five adults and an unborn child dead. The shooting left Ellis paralyzed from the waist down.

SEPT. 22—CHRISTOPHER BRANT WALLACE, a 34-year-old Black male, died in Pittsburgh.

The New Pittsburgh Courier could not confirm at press time the circumstances in which Wallace died.

SEPT. 23—ANTHONY E. WILLIAMS, a 44-year-old Black male from Swissvale, was shot

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and killed around the 7100 block of Frankstown Ave. in Homewood around 9:20 p.m. Two others were injured in the shooting.

SEPT. 25—TYSERE MICHAEL IGLES, a 19-year-old Black male, was shot and killed inside an apartment on Arlington Avenue in Mt. Oliver. The shooting happened around 3:10 a.m.

SEPT. 26—NIGEL BROADUS, a 24-yearold Black male, was shot and killed, police say, by his girlfriend, after police say Broadus continuously assaulted her in a Turtle Creek residence. Broadus was shot multiple times.

AUG. 6—DEANDRE M. OLDAY-BRYANT, a 26-year-old Black male from Homewood, was shot near Kelly Elementary School in Homewood on Aug. 4 around 12:15 p.m.

He died two days later. An obituary for Olday-Bryant read that he had worked as a security guard for several companies in Pittsburgh.

AUG. 19—TANNER J. MORTON, a 16-yearold White male, was shot around 7 p.m. near Mount Washington Park.

He walked into UPMC Mercy with a gunshot wound, and died a few hours later.

AUG. 23—JAMES W. GOODWINE, a 21-yearold Black male, was shot in the 600 block of Elmore Street in the Hill District around 3:30 a.m. He was transported to UPMC Mercy. Goodwine later died.

AUG. 23—KENNETH A. WILSON, a 56-year-old Black male, was shot and killed while in Northview Heights around 9:45 p.m.

An 18-year-old was charged with Wilson’s death.

AUG. 24—MICHAEL WILLIAM ARNOLD, a 19-year-od Black male, was shot and killed on Kent Way in Upper Lawrenceville around 1 a.m. No arrests have been announced.

AUG. 24—NIKI HAPPEL, a 54-year-old White female, was shot and killed by her estranged husband in Upper St. Clair, who then took his own life moments later. Happel had returned to the home on Thousands Oaks Drive to retrieve personal belongings before she was shot.

AUG. 24—ZYKIER YOUNG, a 1-year-old Black male, was shot and killed during a shootout in Spring Hill on the North Side. The death of Young caused a city-wide outcry to denounce gun violence.

Three men were arrested in connection to the shooting, in which Young was not the intended target.

AUG. 27—JANYEL CRAWFORD, a 31-yearold Black female from North Versailles, was shot at the intersection of Frankstown Avenue and Collier Street in Homewood around 11:30 p.m. the previous evening. She died at UPMC Presbyterian at around 12:45 a.m.

JULY 5—JUSTIN GOMEZ, a 32-year-old Black male, was shot in the area of Mohler Street and Ferris Court in Homewood around 9:45 p.m. on July 4. Gomez, of Turtle Creek, died at the hospital the next morning. Authorities have not identified any suspects.

JULY 5—KEITH D. BYRD, a 34-year-old Black male, died the morning after the Fourth of July in a shooting in the 100 block of Shetland Street in Larimer. No arrests have been made in the case.

JULY 8—JAMEY GREEN, a 29-year-old Black male, was shot in an apartment in the Green Valley Flats apartment complex in North Versailles. Police say he was shot by a 20-year-old man from Duquesne.

JULY 11—KEVIN SWINTON, an 18-year-old Black male, was killed on July 11. There is no more information available at this time. Police ask that you call 1-833-255-8477

with any information.

JULY 17—KEITH JONES JR., a 20-year-old Black male, was shot near Spear Alley, near Dinsmore Street, in McKeesport.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Allegheny County Police tip line at 1-833255-8477.

JULY 18—CLARENCE THOMAS IV, an 18-yearold Black male, died during an incident in Sheraden.

JULY 22—CLINTON JAMAR MILLER, a 40-year-old Black male, was shot on Knox Avenue in Knoxville. He died at UPMC Mercy Hospital around 3 a.m. No arrests have been made.

JULY 23—NIKO DAWSON, a 31-year-old Black male, of McKeesport, was shot in the 1200 block of Soles Street around 11:20 p.m. A woman was also shot, but survived.

JULY 26—CORTEZ RAI LUCAS, a 27-year-old Black male, died on July 26. No other information is available at this time.

Police ask that you call 1-833-255-8477 with any information.

JULY 29—RICSHAWN ROBINSON, a 49-year-old Black female, was found shot to death in Hazelwood, in the 300 block of Flowers Avenue. Another man was also found deceased, though that hasn’t been ruled a homicide as of yet.

JULY 29—MICHAEL C. TOMSON, a 53-year-old White male, was assaulted, police say, by a 29-year-old Kennedy Township man, at the Hilltop Inn on Kisow Drive, also in Kennedy.

The 29-year-old allegedly punched Tomson in the face and head. Tomson died from his injuries. The 29-year-old is in custody.

JUNE 3—DEMOND TERRELL SCOTT, a 19-year-old Black male, of Duquesne, was shot in North Braddock around 3:45 p.m. Another man was also shot during the encounter. Anyone with information on possible suspects can contact the Allegheny County Police Tip Line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.

JUNE 4—MITCH WILLIAM VERHEYEN, a 38-year-old White male, was shot during a home invasion, police say, by the homeowner, in Brentwood.

Police say the homeowner shot Verheyen three times.

JUNE 5—TERRANCE LAMAR CARTER, a 49-year-old Black male, and Elisha Marie Moses, a 34-year-old Black female, were found shot to death on Princeton Boulevard in Wilkinsburg around 9:50 p.m. No arrests have been made in the case. Police ask that anyone with information call the county police tip line at 1-833-ALLTIPS (1-833-255-8477).

JUNE 5—ELISHA MARIE MOSES, a 34-year-old Black female, died during an incident in Wilkinsburg.

JUNE 7—DESHERE DAVENPORT, a 19-yearold Black male, was shot and killed in Wilkinsburg.

Police ask that anyone with information call the county police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS (8477).

JUNE 9—TRAI WILSON, a 36-year-old Black male, was shot multiple times while on Dearborn Street in Garfield, on June 8. He died the following afternoon.

JUNE 9—BELLA SEACHRIST, a 3-yearold Hispanic female, died during an incident in Oakmont.

JUNE 11—EDGARD FUMBULA, a 22-year-old Black male, was shot along Bailey Street in Mt. Washington. Police say a 24-yearold man was responsible for shooting Fumbula and another man.

JUNE 14—DEMETRIUS HERRING, a 28-yearold Black male, was killed on June 14. There is no other information available at

this time. Police ask that anyone with information call the county police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS (1833-255-8477).

JUNE 16—GEORGE BROSEY, a 54-year-old White male, was shot while at the Crawford Village housing complex in McKeesport. It’s unclear if any suspects have been apprehended.

JUNE 18—ERICKA J. STEVENS, a 29-year-old Black female, was shot following an argument outside a bar in McKeesport.

Police arrested a 33-yearold female who they believe is responsible for the shooting. Stevens was a mother of three.

JUNE 19—TARA ALICE JOSEPH, a 43-yearold Black female, OLIVER ANDREW FINLEY, a 43-year-old Black male, and HAROLD E. HICKS, a 51-year-old Black male, were shot near Coal Street in Wilkinsburg. Investigators are still looking for the shooter or shooters.

JUNE 21—ROGER BROWN, a 63-year-old Black male, died after being assaulted, police say, by a 31-year-old man and 47-year-old woman, who were cousins, in Homewood. The assault happened in the 7200 block of Frankstown Avenue. Both suspects were arrested.

JUNE 25—KELLYN TOLIVER, a 31-year-old Black male, was shot in Swissvale around the areas of Noble Street and Center Street. He died from his injuries at UPMC Presbyterian. Known as Tolly Bandz, Toliver was a friend of late Pittsburgh rapper Mac Miller.

JUNE 26—CHRISTOPHER LANGHAM, a 48-year-old White male, was shot, police say, by a 26-year-old male, at the Pittsburgh Motel in Robinson Township. The 26-yearold was arrested near the scene.

JUNE 28—GREGORY MICHAEL WALKER, a 37-year-old White male, was fatally stabbed by a 35-year-old man, police say, as the man encountered Walker as he was walking along Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln-Lemington.

The suspect was arrested.

MAY 2—BING LIU, a 37-year-old Asian male, was shot in his Ross Township townhouse, as part of a murder-suicide, police say. It happened in the 200 block of Elm Court.

Liu was a Pitt researcher.

Police believe he was shot by a 46-year-old man, who then got into his car and killed himself.

MAY 4—KRISTY JEFFERSON, a 38-year-old Black female, was found dead in a McKees Rocks apartment on Helen Street, in an abandoned refrigerator. Police have arrested a 40-year-old man in connection with the case, but yet to have charged him with homicide.

MAY 4—TIAWAUN S. HENLEY, a 26-year-old Black male, was shot while in Stowe Township, around 3:30 p.m. Police say he was with a 16-year-old male, of whom fired the shot that killed Henley. Police charged the Sto-Rox High School student with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a minor.

MAY 7—ZION THOMAS, a 19-year-old Black male, of Homestead, was shot in East Liberty near Larimer Avenue and Broad Street around 10:30 a.m.

Thomas was a 2019 graduate of Steel Valley High School.

MAY 12—GARRETT KING, a 28-year-old Black male, was shot in a parking lot in Knoxville, near Mt. Oliver, around 6:30 p.m. on May 11. He died early May 12 at the hospital from his injuries. It’s unclear if any suspects have been apprehended by police.

SEE HOMICIDES A3

METRO

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

HOMICIDES FROM A2

MAY 13—MARCUS WELLS JR., a 16-yearold Black male, was shot around 9 p.m. near Laketon Road and Robinson Boulevard in Wilkinsburg.

Cynthia Barnhart told WTAE-TV that Marcus was a very kind-hearted young man, whose death “has completely shattered the family foundation.”

MAY 17—GORDON DANIELSON JR., a 57-year-old White male, was killed, police say, by his downstairs neighbor, in a McKeesport apartment building. The manner of death was a stabbing. A 52-year-old man has been charged with homicide, burglary and robbery.

MAY 19—THOMAS JOHNSON, a 45-year-old Black male, was shot outside the Mon View Heights apartment complex in West Mifflin. A 37-year-old man has been charged with homicide.

MAY 29—MARK MCCAA, a 45-year-old Black male, died of pneumonia due to quadriplegia at Manor Care nursing home in Shadyside. However, he was permanently disabled after being shot in Penn Hills in 2006, thus ruling McCaa’s death a homicide.

No charges have been filed in the case.

MAY 31—SEAN A. REESE, a 34-year-old Black male, was shot during a block party in Homewood.

He was the owner of Secrets Night Club, also in Homewood. Reese was a member of Perry Traditional Academy’s football team

which won City League titles. He graduated from Perry in 2003.

APRIL 1—ESAM TANZIM HOSSAIN, a 23-year-old Black male, was shot and killed in Oakland, on Meyran Avenue.

Hossain was a former Pitt student, originally from San Jose, Calif.

APRIL 2—KYRAH ANDREWS, a 1-month-old White female, died during an incident in Stowe Township.

APRIL 9—DAVID CRAIG SMITH, a 38-yearold White male, was shot and killed in the 2600 block of Stayton Street in Marshall-Shadeland, It’s unclear if Pittsburgh Police have apprehended any suspects in this case.

APRIL 11— TAYSHAWN ROBINSON, a 19-year-old Black male, was found near McCoy Road in Stowe Township by two teenagers.

Investigators determined that Robinson was killed around 3 a.m. Anyone with information should call the police tip line, 833-ALLTIPS (833-255-8477).

APRIL 19—ELIZABETH WIESENFELD, a 68-year-old White female, of Whitehall, had been missing since April 2019.

Her remains were found inside a garbage bag in Plum Borough on April 19. Investigators believe her 47-year-old handyman is responsible for Wiesenfeld’s death.

APRIL 26—ANTWON RICE, a 31-year-old Black male, of Homewood, was shot while sitting in an SUV on Bennett Street

in Homewood on April 22.

Rice died from his injuries on April 26. An obituary for Rice said his dream was to have his own cleaning business and leave a legacy behind for his children.

APRIL 26—KWAME WASHINGTON, a 24-year-old Black male, was shot and killed while sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle on Shingiss Street in McKees Rocks. Anyone with information should call the police tip line, 833-ALL-TIPS (833-255-8477).

APRIL 26—AMBER DOLBY, a 38-year-old White female, was shot around 5:30 a.m. while in McKeesport near Rogena Street and Riverview Avenue. Dolby was a mother of three.

APRIL 27—DAMIAN L. SOWELL, a 42-year-old Black male, died during an incident in Pittsburgh.

MARCH 3—CHRISTIAN MOORE-ROUSE, a 22-year-old Black male from Verona, was found in Fox Chapel after he was reported missing in December 2019. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner ruled Moore-Rouse’s death a homicide. Moore-Rouse was a 2016 Allderdice High School graduate. A 21-yearold Fox Chapel man has been charged in connection with Moore-Rouse’s death.

MARCH 5—ELIJAH JAMAAL BREWER, a 25-year-old Black male, died in a Pittsburgh Police officer-involved shooting around 7 p.m. near East Ohio Street, North Side.

Brewer, of Mt. Oliver, was a well-known rap artist and

certified fitness trainer. He was affectionately known as “EZ” by friends and family.

MARCH 12—BRITTANY ALKER, a 30-year-old White female, was killed, police say, by a 34-year-old homeless man in Homewood after a domestic dispute. Police identified the man as Alker’s boyfriend.

MARCH 28—CHASAE SWINDLE, a 42-year-old Black male, of McKeesport, was shot while in his vehicle on Evaline Street in Penn Hills. Swindle was a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School and was part of the janitorial staff at the Pittsburgh International Airport.

MARCH 30—SHADEA JOHNSON, a 32-year-old Black female, of Homewood, was shot, police say, by a 44-year-old man, on Monticello Street around 2:30 a.m. The 44-year-old was captured by U.S. marshals.

FEB. 3—CINDY WOODS, a 58-year-old White female, died during an incident in Hays.

FEB. 3—KEVIN HALL, a 23-year-old Black male, died in a shooting on Winston Street in Wilkinsburg.

FEB. 4—JOSEPH PERLICK-SPERNAK, a 25-year-old White male, was shot and killed after a physical alteration that began inside a home in Clairton. Police believe 28-year-old Gerald Johnson was responsible for the shooting. Johnson remained at the scene as police arrived.

FEB. 9—ANTHONY LAMARR OROSCO, a

JANUARY 13-19, 2021

20-year-old Black male, was shot and killed while trying to break up a fight between a mother and her son, both of whom were armed with a gun.

The incident happened in West Mifflin, as 21-yearold Dante King told police that he shot Orosco, of Pine Knot, Ky. FEB. 9—CHASSITY CLANCY, a 3-year-old Black female, was shot and killed while sleeping in a home in Beltzhoover.

While the shooting death is widely believed to be accidental, 51-year-old Marlin Pritchard, of Beltzhoover, faces homicide, child endangerment and gun charges in connection with the shooting. Pritchard told police he was sleeping with a shotgun under his pillow.

FEB. 16—JASON LEWIS, a 39-year-old Black male, was shot and killed while leaving the Sahara Temple after-hours club in Braddock. Lewis died around 12:15 p.m. at UPMC Presbyterian hospital, about nine hours after he was wounded.

FEB. 17—JEREMY DENTEL, a 28-year-old White male, was shot and killed, police say by 21-year-old Adam Rosenberg, after the two met in person from a dating app.

Dentel was killed with a gunshot to the head in Baldwin Borough. Rosenberg will stand trial on homicide charges.

FEB. 19—DOMINIQUE M. FULLER, a 25-yearold Black male, died during an incident in Homewood.

FEB. 26—DAVID HOW-

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ARD, a 47-year-old White male, was shot and killed, police say by his own son, in Harmar Township. Shane Howard, the 23-year-old son, told police he shot his father after his father badmouthed his girlfriend and their baby.

FEB. 26—ROBERT FULTON, a 33-year-old Black male, was shot and killed on Taft Avenue in Beltzhoover around 11:30 a.m. No additional information has been made available about this case.

JAN. 1—LADEA TERRELL, a 33-year-old Black female, was shot multiple times in Wilkinsburg on Dec. 17, 2019. She died of her injuries on Jan. 1. Terrell was shot around 9 p.m. in the 200 block of Eastgate Drive, which closely borders East Hills. There have been no arrests in the shooting death.

JAN. 10—ISSA NOOR, an 18-year-old Black male from Grove City, was shot multiple times near Roberts Street and Bedford Avenue in the Hill District around 6:45 p.m. There have been no arrests in the shooting death.

JAN. 12—JOSHUA BRANDON LONG, a 22-year-old Black male from West Mifflin, was shot by a homeowner inside a home in Baldwin Borough.

The incident occurred shortly after 7 p.m. Anyone with information on the incident can call the Allegheny County police tip line at 1-833-255-8477.

JAN. 27—TIONNA HIGHSMITH, a 29-yearold Black female, died after being shot 15 years prior.

Housing Authority to purchase new RV, providing even more Internet access to residents INTERNET FROM A1

charge to all low-income public housing residents, along with hosting Comcast Lift Zones in all after-school program areas run by HACP’s partners, the Beverly Jewel Wall

Lovelace Out of School Time Program, and the ABK Early Childhood Learning Center.

“By providing residents with Internet access during the COVID-19

pandemic, we will help residents and families gain access to online opportunities and provide opportunities for work and school,” Sandidge told the Courier.

Sandidge said in a statement that the HACP “can’t wait to get this new RV out into our communities and start bringing more HACP families online. On be-

half of the entire HACP and our Board of Commissioners, I’d like to stress how truly grateful we are to the Richard King Mellon Foundation for their belief in

this initiative and their long-standing commitment to improving access to education and workforce development.”

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RELIGION/METRO

JANUARY 13-19, 2021

Praise & Worship

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

A very Merry ‘Vettemas’ to one and all!

ST. BENEDICT THE MOOR CATHOLIC CHURCH 91 Crawford Street Pgh., PA 15219 412-281-3141 Sunday Mass 10:30 A.M. www.sbtmparishpgh.com

East Liberty Presbyterian Church Rev. Dr. Randy Bush, Senior Pastor 412-441-3800 Worship Online on Facebook/YouTube www.ELPC.church Journey Worship...........8:45 a.m.

Sanctuary Worship...........11 a.m.

Taize -Wednesdays.........7 p.m.

Curious about Quakerism?

You Are Welcome at our Meetings for Worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m.

Pittsburgh Friends Meeting 4836 Ellsworth Avenue www.quaker.org/pghpamm/

Join our growing Praise and Worship Church Community!

For rate information, call 412481-8302, ext.

128.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR NEXT CHURCH EVENT! We want to place your event in our Church Circuit weekly calendar!

Send info to: New Pittsburgh Courier 315 E. Carson St. Pittsburgh PA 15219 Or Email us! religion@ newpittsburgh courier.com

The Courier is THE VOICE of Black Pittsburgh.

SANTA CLAUS was present at Achieving Greatness Inc.’s Toys for Champions Christmas Party and Toy Giveaway, held in December 2020.

Given that Christmas is a numbers game (you know, the whole how many children, how many toys, how much time to get it done thing), let’s start with the numbers. They truly speak to a Christmas Miracle!

More than 425 vehicles of all kinds, shapes and sizes...over 800 children received toys...over 1,200 toys given away... and over 400 Boost Mobile backpacks! Doesn’t get any merrier than that!

That being said, let us not get it twisted. This wonder-day was not only Santa’s doing. The event was made possible by the collective effort of some of the community’s most notable icons. Achieving Greatness Inc., formerly Champion Enterprises, launched its 46th consecutive Toys for Champions Christmas Party and Toy Giveaway.

They were joined once again by the horsepower of the Elite Corvette Club of Pittsburgh, Senator Jay Costa, Boost Mobile, Chuck Sanders Charities, Goodrich & Geist Law Firm, UPMC, Diversified Municipal Services, Cosmos Technologies, Cameron Professional Management, Attorney Jack Goodrich, Tykes Auto Service, Walmart, the Office of the Chief Executive of Allegheny County, Tatar Podiatry, Coach Ace Brueggerman, MAM Communications and Briggs Transportation Company.

Now that may seem like a long list to call attention to but believe it or not, those are the “The Big Deer.” There is a much longer list to acknowledge but time or space truly won’t allow for it. However, if I want to see Christmas next year, I had better send out a North Star salute to the ladies of the Elite Corvette Club.

They were truly the force behind the movement, the

Overtime

Bill Neal love, trust and support of “The Fold,” a Penn Hills-based church that donated their parking lot and property. And for you non-believers, there is a Santa Claus, and we

know it’s true because you see him right in the photos. The muscle of the men of Elite, the presence of Mad Dads and the Achieving Greatness staff, the generosity of coach Al Smith and his distribution of over

TIMOTHY “TIMMY” MONROE BRYANT

Sunrise 3/19/1939 - Sunset 12/21/2020 Timothy Monroe Bryant of the Hill District, passed away on December 21, 2020 at Magee Hospital from COVID-19. Timothy was preceded in death by his parents Wayland and Geraldine Miller Bryant, his brothers Wayland (Elizabeth), Frank, Richard (Emma), Michael and Gregory, sister Julia Doris and his son Jomo Griffin.

He leaves to mourn his daughter Jamel Therese Hazlip, his brothers Gerald, Robert, Reginald (Deborah) and Ronald, his sisters, Shirley Thomas (late Herbert) and Beverly Tunstalle. He also leaves to mourn a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and many friends.

Arrangements will be privately carried out per Timothy’s wishes. Memorial to be announced at later date.

250 backpack and jacket combos and once again the support of Penn Hills Mayor Pauline Calabrese and State Representative Tony DeLuca; thank you so much again.

What cannot be lost in this enormous undertaking are the things that we sometimes take for granted...like the blessings from above that turned what looked to be a shutdown snowstorm into a winter wonderland, those Elite members that showcased their corvettes in spite of the weather so the community could be sure of their level of commitment, Senator Jay Costa giving up his Sunday afternoon while the world is in political, social and medical crisis, Coach Jeff, whose warmth

comes from his heart as well as his well-known hot dog grill, the snow plowers that saved the day not once but twice, and last and certainly not least, the trust and trouble-free participation of the parents and children that braved the cold…stayed in line patiently…and gave love as they departed.

As we conclude another year of dedicated community service, we say thank you to all, a very Merry Christmas and blessed and Happy New Year to all!!!!

That being said, now would be a good time to give you some background information. The Elite Corvette Club of Pittsburgh is a newly established group of men and women who own, race and showcase some of the most magnificent vehicles known to man.

With that, they share a mindset to not only operate in the Pittsburgh and Allegheny communities, but to provide a community service as well.

Thus, the partnership was established with Achieving Greatness Incorporated. As many of you know, AGI, formerly known as Champion Enterprises, is now in its 46th consecutive year of providing community service programs and events. Most notably, the nationally recognized Connie Hawkins Summer Basketball League, Franco Harris All-Pro Football Camp, Willie Stargell MVP Awards Banquet and The Pittsburgh City League High School All-Sports Hall of Fame Inductions.

HEALTH

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

JANUARY 13-19, 2021

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Take Charge Of Your Health Today. Be Informed. Be Involved.

ESTHER BUSH

Vaccine hesitancy With the new year comes new beginnings, but, for many, especially those in the African American community, 2021 brings with it many feelings of uncertainty. As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes available, people have questions, and a palpable hesitancy can be felt in every corner and neighborhood because of stinging reminders of the past.

This hesitancy and mistrust, at least where the African American community is concerned, stems from years of medical abuse. Well-known examples are the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, where African American men were given no effective care for syphilis so that researchers could track the progression of the disease; the controversial and unethical experiments performed on enslaved African American women by James Marion Sims; and the case of Henrietta Lacks, who passed away from cervical cancer in the 1950s but not before her cells were taken and used for biomedical research without her knowledge or consent. Systemic racism continues to be a barrier to medical care and involvement in research studies for people of color.

The Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh has been a partner of the Community Vaccine Collaborative since this collaborative began in July 2020—first, to increase participation of diverse individuals in vaccine trials and, more recently, to ensure equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines. This collaborative has enabled us the opportunity to speak with researchers and connect them with community partners to strengthen communication about the vaccines. The collaborative is currently conducting a survey on how the African American population feels about the vaccines and our overall sense of the trustworthiness of vaccine-related information. Dr. Maya Ragavan, a researcher with the collaborative, has taken steps to dig deeper and discover what people are really thinking about the vaccine and how members of the African American and Latinx communities are getting their COVID-19 information. In partnership with the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh’s Health Advocacy Program, the collaborative created a 15-20 minute survey.

To participate in this survey, you must identify as a member of the Black or Latino communities (Black, African American, African, Latino, Latina, Latinx or Hispanic), live in or within 50 miles of Pittsburgh, be 18 years old or older and be able to complete the survey in English or Spanish. If you would like to take the survey or have any questions, please email Maya Ragavan (ragavanm@chp.edu) or call or text 412515-9048. Each survey respondent will receive a gift card for participating.

The coronavirus continues to disproportionately affect the African American population. Black people have some of the highest death rates and have more risk factors for poor outcomes. Deciding to not get the vaccine and protect yourselves and loved ones from the disease could have dire consequences. For years, this “Take Charge of Your Health” series has empowered, inspired and urged you to take charge of your health. Now, more than ever, it is vitally important that you do so. With all matters of heart, mind and body, I always advise my friends and family to educate themselves. Be an advocate for yourself. Make an informed decision on what the best choice is for you and your loved ones.

Take charge of your health, dear reader. I hope that the new year is one of good health and prosperity for you and for those you hold close to your heart.

Esther L. Bush, President and CEO Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh

SYLVIA OWUSU-ANSAH, M.D., 42, was among the first UPMC employees to receive the first part of the new COVID-19 vaccine, which arrived Monday morning, Dec. 14, 2020, at UPMC Children’s Hospital. (Photo courtesy UPMC)

Vaccine hesitancy in Black and Latinx communities After successful use in clinical trials proved their COVID-19 vaccines to be roughly 95% effective in preventing the infection, two drug companies have received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency-use authorization of their COVID-19 vaccines.* While some people celebrate this step in the fight against the global pandemic, others are cautious about welcoming possible vaccines. University of Pittsburgh researchers want to know more about the reasons people have vaccine hesitancy.

The World Health Organization defines vaccine hesitancy as “the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines.”

People are hesitant about vaccines for a variety of reasons. For Black and Indigenous communities and People of Color, some of those reasons stem from their mistreatment and abuse at the hands of academic and medical institutions (infamous examples are the Tuskegee Study the Guatemala Syphilis Study). Other reasons may include systemic racism and its effects in medical settings or even a lack of health care access.

Whatever the cause may be, vaccine hesitancy may influence COVID-19’s impact on communities that are already hardest hit by the pandemic. As reported in the COVID Tracking Project, marginalized communities

in the United States get infected and die from COVID-19 at rates more than 1.5 times their share of the population.

But people who disproportionately bear the burden of COVID-19 may also be the groups most unsure about getting a vaccine.

MAYA RAGAVAN, MD, MPH, MS

According to a poll conducted by the COVID Collaborative, Langer Research, UnidosUS and the NAACP, fewer than half of Black people and 66% of Latinx people said they would definitely or probably get the vaccine.

In Pittsburgh last

Community vaccine collaborative study Are you interested in taking a survey about vaccines? We are a team at the University of Pittsburgh, conducting a research study to learn more about sources of trusted information during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as thoughts about vaccines. This study includes a one-time, 15-20 minute survey.

This survey is confidential and anonymous, and anything you tell us will not be linked to your name or other identifying information. You will receive a $25 gift card for participating.

To participate in this study, you

UPS DELIVERY DRIVER DALLAS WHITE safely delivers the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to UPMC officials, Dec. 14, 2020. (Photo courtesy UPMC)

have to identify as a member of the Black or Latino communities (Black, African American, African, Latino, Latina, Latinx or Hispanic), live in or within 50 miles of Pittsburgh, be 18 years old or older and be able to complete the survey in English or Spanish. If you would like to take the survey or have any questions, please email Maya Ragavan (ragavanm@chp.edu) or call or text 412-515-9048. We can email or text you the link or, if you prefer, read the questions out loud. summer, a community group-including people from the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, UrbanKind Institute, University of Pittsburgh, Casa San José and the Neighborhood Resilience Project-gathered to make sure marginalized communities were represented in COVID-19 vaccine trials. The Community Vaccine Collaborative is a community-academic partnership that is centered on addressing the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on marginalized communities.

“We started thinking about the idea of trustworthiness— of the vaccine, of research and of health care professionals,” says Maya Ragavan, MD, MPH, MS, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. “We’re trying to shift the narrative from ‘We just need to keep educating people until they trust research’ to ‘How can research and medical institutions be more trustworthy?’”

The Community Vaccine Collaborative members are working to understand and acknowledge the past and histories of mistrust and trauma perpetrated by research and medical institutions against communities of color, particularly in Black and Latinx communities, as a means to build trustworthiness.

As a member of the Community Vaccine Collaborative, Dr. Ragavan is also currently coleading a study (funded by the Allegheny County Health Department) that is investigating Black and Latinx adults’ thoughts about COVID-19 and possible vaccines. People taking the survey are asked where they are getting information about COVID-19 and which sources of information they trust.

They are asked whether they would get a COVID-19 vaccination for themselves or their children (when one is available). Additionally, survey respondents are asked about the flu vaccine, which has traditionally had slower uptake rates compared with traditional childhood vaccines.

Another study the Community Vaccine Collaborative is developing would also be used to help build trustworthiness by surveying researchers. Taylor Scott, health advocate with the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, and Dr. Ragavan are creating a survey that asks researchers what they know about past histories of mistrust and trauma and how they think trustworthiness can be built. Results from this study will not only inform our understanding of addressing vaccine mistrust but also have implications for building trustworthiness more broadly.

“As a pediatrician, I strongly believe in vaccines,” says Dr. Ragavan. “They save lives, and I’ll always encourage families to get vaccinated. However, I strongly understand that people may be hesitant in general about trusting vaccines and medical professionals.

“If people are wary of vaccines, they should discuss their concerns with their health care provider. We are here to listen and talk about your questions and concerns.

Having a discussion about concerns or questions could help allay some fears,” she says. *As of January 6, 2021, people have begun receiving Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines.

New Pittsburgh Courier

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MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. JANUARY 13-19, 2021

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — His life, his achievements

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., (Jan. 15, 1929–April 4, 1968) was a pastor, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based on his Christian beliefs.

He was born Michael King, but his father changed his name in honor of the German reformer Martin Luther. A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career.

He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and after the success of this campaign he decided to make the fight for civil rights his

lifetime goal.

Needing an organization to work from he helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president.

With the SCLC, King led an unsuccessful struggle against segregation in Albany, Ga., in 1962, and organized nonviolent protests in Birmingham, Ala, that attracted national attention following television news coverage of the brutal police response. King also helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

On Oct. 14, 1964, King received the Nobel Peace

Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence. In 1965, he and the SCLC helped to organize the Selma to Montgomery marches and the following year, he took the movement north to Chicago to work on segregated housing. In the final years of his life, King expanded his focus to include poverty and speak against the Vietnam War, alienating many of his allies with a 1967 speech titled “Beyond Vietnam.”

In 1968, King was planning a national occupation of Washington, D.C., to be called the Poor People’s Campaign, when he was assassinated on April 4 in Memphis, where he was organizing a march

in support of equal pay for garbage collectors there. His death was followed by riots in many U.S. cities.

King was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established as a holiday in numerous cities and states beginning in 1971, and as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986. Hundreds of streets in the U.S. have been renamed in his honor.

In addition, a county was rededicated in his honor. A memorial statue on the National Mall was opened to the public in 2011.

Growing up in Atlanta, King attended Booker T.

Washington High School.

He became known for his public speaking ability and was part of the school’s debate team. King became the youngest assistant manager of a newspaper delivery station for the Atlanta Journal in 1942 at age 13.

During his junior year, he won first prize in an oratorical contest sponsored by the Negro Elks Club in Dublin, Ga. Returning home to Atlanta, him and his teacher were ordered by the driver to stand so White passengers could sit down.

King refused initially, but complied after his teacher informed him that he would be breaking the law if he did not go along with

the order. He later characterized this incident as “the angriest I have ever been in my life.” A precocious student, he skipped both the ninth and the twelfth grades of high school. At age 15, King passed the exam and entered Morehouse. The summer before his last year at Morehouse, in 1947, an 18-year old King made the choice to enter the ministry after he concluded the church offered the most assuring way to answer “an inner urge to serve humanity.” King’s “inner urge” had begun developing and he made peace with the BapSEE MLK JR A8

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tist Church, as he believed he would be a “rational” minister with sermons that were “a respectful force for ideas, even social protest.”

In 1948, he graduated from Morehouse with a B.A. degree in sociology, and enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pa., from which he graduated with a B.Div. degree in 1951.

King was elected president of the student body.

King began doctoral studies in systematic theology at Boston University and received his PhD. Degree in 1955, with a dissertation on “A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman.

King became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., when he was 25 years old, in 1954. As a Christian minister, his main influence was Jesus Christ and the Christian gospels, which he would almost always quote in his religious meetings, speeches at church, and in public discourses. King’s faith was strongly based in Jesus’ commandment of loving your neighbor as yourself, loving God above all, and loving your enemies, praying for them and blessing them.

His non-violent thought was also based in the injunction to turn the other cheek in the Sermon on the Mount, and Jesus’ teaching of putting the sword back into its place (Matthew 26:52). In his famous Letter from Birmingham Jail, King urged action consistent with what he describes as Jesus’ “extremist” love, and also quoted numerous other Christian pacifist authors, which

THE REV. DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. is welcomed with a kiss by his wife Coretta after leaving court in Montgomery, Ala., March 22, 1956. Dr. King was found guilty of conspiracy to boycott city buses in a campaign to desegregate the bus system, but a judge suspended his $500 fine pending appeal. (Associated Press Photo) was very usual for him.

In another sermon, he stated: “Before I was a civil rights leader, I was a preacher of the Gospel.

This was my first calling and it still remains my greatest commitment.

You know, actually all that I do in civil rights I do because I consider it a part of my ministry. I have no other ambitions in life but to achieve excellence in the Christian ministry. I don’t plan to run for any political of-

fice. I don’t plan to do anything but remain a preacher. And what I’m doing in this struggle, along with many others, grows out of my feeling that the preacher must be concerned about the whole man.”

His study of Mahatma Gandhi’s struggle in India also had a lot to do with his tactics of nonviolence as well as the general knowledge of most Black Southerners that an armed confrontation would be disastrous for

Blacks.

In his speech “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” he stated that he just wanted to do God’s will.

Veteran African American civil rights activist Bayard Rustin served as King’s main advisor and mentor in the late 1950s.

Mahatma Gandhi’s suc-

cess with non-violent activism, King had it for a long time...he wanted to take a trip to India.

With assistance from the Quaker group the American Friends Service Committee, he was able to make the journey in April 1959. The trip to India affected King, deepening his understanding of non-violent resistance and his commitment to America’s struggle for civil rights. In a radio address made during his final evening in India, King reflected, “Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity.”

One-aspect scholars haven’t dealt with for the non-violent method of King is common sense and common knowledge of the South. Just about every Southerner had a gun and could use them and had demonstrated this many times in the past when Blacks spoke out. So if Blacks took up guns in the South they would have in most cases been eliminated quickly, and probably would have been supported by many Whites in the north.

King and other activists throughout the South understood this.

As the leader of the SCLC, King maintained a policy of not publicly endorsing a U.S. political party or candidate: “I feel someone must remain in the position of non-alignment, so that

he can look objectively at both parties and be the conscience of both—not the servant or master of either.” King stated that Black Americans, as well as other disadvantaged Americans, should be compensated for historical wrongs. In an interview conducted for Playboy in 1965, he said that granting Black Americans only equality could not realistically close the economic gap between them and Whites. King said that he did not seek a full restitution of wages lost to slavery, which he believed impossible, but proposed a government compensatory program of $50 billion over ten years to all disadvantaged groups.

He posited that “the money spent would be more than amply justified by the benefits that would accrue to the nation through a spectacular decline in school dropouts, family breakups, crime rates, illegitimacy, swollen relief rolls, rioting and other social evils”. He presented this idea as an application of the common law regarding settlement of unpaid labor, but clarified that he felt that the money should not be spent exclusively on Blacks. He stated, “It should benefit the disadvantaged of all races.”

(Information for this article was obtained from various sources, including Wikipedia, “From Slavery to Freedom,” “Before the Mayflower,” and “Biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” )

THE KING FAMILY is pictured at home in Atlanta: from left, Martin Luther King III, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, Dexter, 4, and Yolanda, 9. June 20, 1965. (Associated Press Photo)

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A HISTORIC VICTORY IN GEORGIA

Rev. Raphael Warnock is the first African American to win a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia’s history

by Lauren Victoria Burke NNPA Newswire Contributor

Rev. Raphael Warnock, who is the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, the Atlanta church where Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was pastor during the civil rights movement, is now the first Black Democrat to be elected to the U.S. Senate in the Deep South in the modern political era. The runoff election featured historic turnout. A voter registration strategy implemented by former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, along with a

push by grassroots groups like Black Votes Matter, led by LaTosha Brown, was a deciding factor in Rev. Warnock’s decisive win. Black voters in Georgia over-performed in the early vote and on Election Day, which was Jan. 5.

The balance of power in Washington and on Capitol Hill will now shift dramatically to Democrats who will now control Congress and the White House. The dual victories on the same night by Rev. Warnock and Jon Ossoff seem to mark a repudiation of the GOP under Donald Trump.

Rev. Warnock won his heavily contested U.S.

Senate race over billionaire Kelly Loeffler, who was appointed to the Senate by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp in December 2019. The U.S. Senate race cost over $200 million with soon-to-be Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell donating over $60 million from his Political Action Committee.

By late Tuesday night (Jan. 5) and into Wednesday morning (Jan. 6) after Election Day in Georgia, Rev. Warnock had 2,227,296 votes to Loeffler’s 2,173,866.

On top of Rev. Warnock’s historic win, another Democrat, Ossoff, won against incumbent Republican

Senator David Perdue. As election results continued to come in showing how close the Warnock/Loeffler race would be, some Republicans began assigning blame for the loss to President Trump.

The stunning double victory on a single night for Democrats will change the trajectory of the presidency of Joe Biden, which begins on January 20.

The U.S. Senate will be tied 50-50 and Vice President-elect Kamara Harris will now become a pivotal figure required to often preside over the U.S. Senate and break ties on key policies and nominees.

In the race for the White

House in 2020, Trump lost Georgia to Biden by over 11,000 votes. In the days before the runoff elections in Georgia, Trump spent most of his time criticizing other Republicans in Georgia. Trump had earlier called into question the validity of the voting process in Georgia. The president also pressured Georgia officials to flip the state in his favor as Congress officially was certifying the presidential election.

Trump’s words signaled an internal war in the Republican Party as the outgoing president caused problems within the GOP. Trump attacked Repub-

lican Georgia Governor Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger.

That, along with outgoing U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell single-handedly blocking $2,000 checks to assist Americans in a pandemic that has killed over 350,000 people, likely impacted the runoff results in Georgia.

(Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent journalist for NNPA and the host of the podcast BURKEFILE. She is also a political strategist as Principal of Win Digital Media LLC. She may be contacted at LBurke007@gmail.com and on twitter at @LVBurke)

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New Pittsburgh Courier

Attempted coup or deplorable act of the powerless?

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BUSINESS

Classifieds

Find what you need from jobs to cars to housing B5-6

JANUARY 13-19, 2021

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

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Highmark Health appoints Robert James new Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Pittsburgh, Pa., January 11, 2021—The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that Highmark Health announced the appointment of Robert James, JD, MBA, MHA, as Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.

James joined Highmark Health in 2015 as supplier diversity director and has steadily grown the program to become one of the top award-winning supplier diversity programs in the Americas, as recognized by industry peers through the Procurement Leaders Americas Supplier Diversity and Inclusion Award.

In his new capacity, James will work closely with Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, MD, MEd, MPPM, FACOG, who serves as Allegheny Health Network’s Chief Clinical Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. James will implement and advise upon Highmark Health’s enterprise-wide diversity, equity and inclusion strategy, while Dr. Larkins-Pettigrew will focus her efforts across AHN to shape an inclusive workplace culture and further establish the network’s strong commitment to workforce diversity, cultural competency,

and equitable health care delivery and outcomes.

Prior to joining Highmark Health, James served as CEO of a diversity and inclusion consulting firm and in an advisory role with the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. A practicing lawyer for more than 20 years, he spent several years facilitating Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) financings ROBERT JAMES

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Robert Lee Newman named CMOA’s deputy director As Carnegie Museum of Art’s new Deputy Director, Ronald Lee Newman will maintain the museum’s day-to-day business operations to advance its strategic goals. He will partner closely with museum leadership on organizational initiatives, strategic planning, and policy decisions, and contribute leadership for institutional partnerships by guiding the implementation of programs that broaden the museum’s reach, increase its audience, and advance its reputation.

Newman comes to CMOA from the August Wilson Society in Washington, D.C., where he served as a board member and interim Communications Director. Beforehand, he spent time in Pittsburgh ROBERT LEE NEWMAN as the Managing Director of the August Wilson African American Cultural Center. Newman managed the Center’s daily operations, advanced institutional relationships, and oversaw facilities, production management, patron services, and the development of organizational structure procedures. Prior to this role, Newman worked at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C. for over a decade as Director of Operations and Collaborative Programming. During his tenure, he oversaw operations of the school. He also managed audience and patron services, safety and security, licensing and events, and contracted production and operations staff. Notably, he served as the Project Director for the modernization and expansion of the Duke Ellington School; is the founder and former Chair of the school’s Technical Design and Production Department; and a founding member of the school’s Alumni Association.

Help your kids get financially fit

by Kavita Kamdar For New Pittsburgh Courier

Editor’s Note: This reporting on financial education is made possible by JPMorgan Chase.

Multiple studies have shown that the earlier kids develop healthy money habits, the better our prospects of having strong financial health into adulthood.

According to research, we start grasping money basics when we are 3. This gives us a great opportunity to introduce conversations about ways to save, think about spending, and the value of money early in our kids’ lives.

It used to be that children learned about money when shopping out with parents, but as more transactions happen digitally, they can lose touch, and important learning moments may be harder to find. But the good news is that parents can now use a mobile phone to have conversations with their kids about the best ways to earn, save, and spend money and encourage good habits.

My team at Chase is focused on creating tools and resources that support financial health. To help kids practice and learn how to earn, spend, and save, we created Chase First Banking—an account that can help make financial education easy, fun, and immersive. It helps parents to have real-time conversations around how much can kids get for allowances or chores, where they are approved to spend and how much, and how to set up savings goals right from the Chase Mobile app, and kids have access to their own debit card.

To create this account, we spoke to a lot of parents, children, and experts about how we can help start healthy money conversations with kids, and here are 5 tips to help you get started: 1) Encourage them to save: When your child gets their allowance or receives birthday money, talk to them about the importance of setting some money aside for savings. The more you help them do it, the more you reinforce it as a habit that will help them develop a savers mentality.

2) Involve your children in important family money decisions: When you are considering an important family purchase, engage your children, and help them understand what goes into the decision. Be it a new house, or even a couch, refrigerator, or car, what are important factors to consider? Your child can benefit from knowing how much you are comfortable spending, why you choose to shop at certain merchants, and how you compare prices and options.

3) Shop online together: Online shopping has become increasingly popular in 2020 with social distancing.

Involve your children in these transactions by shopping with them. Ask them to help you find better deals and to add up totals in your cart before paying. After you’ve made your decision on what to purchase, help them understand that digital purchases still need to be paid with real money from their bank account.

SEE FINANCIALLY FIT B2

Stop making excuses!

When you make an excuse, you are seeking to defend or justify something. There are things that happen in life that catch us completely off-guard. When this happens, it flips whatever we had planned inside out. There are some things that are a matter of fact. It is what it is! You have limited to no ability to change it in the short-term. These are the unpredictable circumstances and the realities of life that we all face. When life throws you an unpredictable curveball or slaps you with real-world facts that delay or thwart you from accomplishing a goal. That’s not an excuse. That’s a fact. No need to defend or justify. You just need to explain.

There are things that we know that we need to be doing in order to enhance the quality of our life—but it’s hard! It requires work. It requires commitment. It requires sacrifice. It requires time. It requires knowledge. It requires consistency.

It requires money. It requires thinking outside of the box. It requires a change in lifestyle. It requires a new way of thinking. It requires leaving our comfort zone.

The task required to accomplish our desired result is too daunting. We’d rather spend more time employing shortcut tactics to get ahead. We’re suckers for the “Get Rich Quick, Get Fit Quick,” “Buy Now, Pay Later,” “Cliff Notes,” and “Microwaved Food” ideology. We want what we want, and we want it now. We don’t have time nor interest for delayed gratification. We’d rather spend hours at the mall getting the right outfit to look good. Or spend hours at the hair salon or barber shop getting our hair done to look good, as opposed to spending hours

in the gym exerting effort to get our body right to look good. Neither the mall nor the barber shop and salon require the amount of effort required at the gym.

Those people who are in good shape look good in practically everything. They even look good naked. I can’t stand them chiseled gym freaks! (joking) There’s no character, stamina, fortitude, or appreciation developed in the shortcut pathway to success. Microwaved food doesn’t taste as good as food prepared and cooked from scratch.

There’s no long-term success in the quick success route. Easy come. Easy go! I hate to be the bearer of bad news. Mind you, I’m talking to both you and me. If we really want something, we’re going to have to bust our donkey to get it. Then we’re going to have to bust our donkey time and time again to maintain it and make it better. I had an athletic body before. I used to live in the gym. I currently make excuses as to why I can’t get to the gym. The athletic body left me. Do I really want the athletic body? Will I continue to make excuses as to why I can’t get to the gym? Time will reveal.

What about you? Are you where you want to be in life physically, financially, relationally, or spiritually? Are you a sucker for shortcut tactics? Do you make excuses as to why you can’t get things done? Are you a procrastinator? Do you

have a little man can get ahead mentality? Are you content with the status quo?

Have you accomplished a desired goal then fell back into bad habits that caused you to fall off? Are you afraid to step outside of your comfort zone?

I’m reminded of a baby with a dirty diaper. Oftentimes, you’ll find yourself chasing the baby so that you can change their dirty diaper. The baby knows that his or her diaper is dirty but they’re comfortable in their own mess.

Excuses aside, have you not done what you know you need to do because you’re comfortable in your own mess?

At the beginning of this article we detailed that certain unpredictable events and real-life facts are beyond our control. They may stifle us from time to time in pursuit of our goals. It is what it is. What about those things that we can control? What’s holding us back from reaching our goals or realizing our full potential? Stop! Pick up your cell phone. Take a quick selfie.

Take a close look at the picture in the selfie. That’s the person that’s holding you back from reaching your goals and realizing your full potential. We have to remind ourselves over and over again to “stop making excuses!” Excuses don’t explain and explanations don’t excuse. We are our own worst enemy.

• Tired? Go to sleep earlier! Take a power nap!

• Out of Shape? Exercise more! Eat less!

• Don’t have time? Quit watching TV! Quit scrolling social media!

• Don’t have the money? Stop wasting money! Get a second job!

• Seems too complicated? Put your best foot forward and take baby steps! How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!

• Don’t have the knowledge? Read a book! Google it! Watch a YouTube video!

We all know what we need to do in order to achieve our goals. If we’re unsure, the Internet is an information gateway. We can learn what we need to know or seek out professionals who will serve as both an accountability partner and help guide us on our path. Most of us don’t follow all the way through on our goals. We either procrastinate or make excuses.

Kobe Bryant said in an interview before his untimely death...the biggest mistake he made in life was thinking he had more time. When we procrastinate, we assume we have more time. We make excuses because: We don’t believe enough in ourselves. We don’t want to put forward the effort. The journey seems too long. We’re afraid to leave our comfort zone. We’re comfortable living in our mess.

Excuses are the monuments of nothingness. They are bridges to nowhere. In the end, if we keep making excuses, the only thing we’ll have to show for it is the painful emotion of REGRET! (Damon Carr, Money Coach can be reached @ 412-216-1013 or visit his website @ www.damonmoneycoach.com)

NATIONAL

B2 JANUARY 13-19, 2021

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

It’s not over: As video champions new attacks, Biden-Harris inauguration to be held outside

by Hazel Trice Edney

day, Jan. 20. These riots are being planned for all For New Pittsburgh Courier 50 capital cities as well ( T r i c e E d n e y W i r e . as the U. S. Capitol.

President Biden says he com)—A futuristic video circulating on social will still hold the inaugumedia early this week ration outside of the Capfeatures the voice of ital despite continued President Donald Trump threats. A possible 15,000 calling for a “Day of Re- National Guard troops awakening” on Inaugura- are expected to guard the tion Day, Jan. 20, 2021. Capitol during the cerThe three-minute video, emony. People are being which features images of encouraged to watch the people dressed in Trump swearing in on television.

Meanwhile, Congressiot-shirts, hats and other paraphernalia concludes nal Democrats and some with the apparent voice Republicans are movof Donald Trump en- ing ahead with the imcouraging them to not be peachment of Trump for afraid and saying that the charge, “Incitement of insurrection” for his “God will protect you.” encouragement This kind of rhetoric has verbal heated up since the Jan. that resulted in the riot6 violent insurrection in ers storming the Capitol. which thousands of vast- He would be the first U. ly White Trump support- S. president to be imers showed up at the U. S. peached twice. Trump Capitol where thousands has repeatedly told his rioted, vandalized and supporters the lie that assaulted police officers. his election “was stolen” Five people died as a re- from them.

Members of Congress sult of the riot; including a Capitol Police officer, may also face punishBrian Sicknick, who died ment for their words that from injuries he received day, namely Sen. Ted while fighting off insur- Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. gents. Another officer, Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who Howard Liebengood, died doubled down on Trumps by suicide three days af- lie, claiming the election was stolen and led the ter the riot.

Widespread reports, in- vote against the certificacluding from NBC and tion of the Biden-Harris CNN, say the FBI has election. Some members warned of more likely of Congress insist that terrorist attacks, insur- to also have been insurrections and riots leading rection, which the Fourup to the presidential in- teenth Amendment of the auguration and on that Constitution, Section 3, cites as a reason for expulsion from LEGAL ADVERTISING the seats they hold.

The Fourteenth Bids/Proposals Amendment states: “No Person shall be a Senator or RepALLIES & ROSS MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT resentative in ConCORPORATION gress, or elector REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS of President and (RFP) FOR Vice-President, or Low Income Housing Tax Credit hold any office, civInvestor/Limited Partner and/or il or military, under Lender Manchester the United States, Redevelopment or under any State, ARMDC RFP #2021-35 The Allies & Ross Management and who, having preDevelopment Corporation (ARMDC) viously taken an hereby request proposals from qualified oath, as a member Firms or Individuals capable of providing of Congress, or as the following service(s): an officer of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit United States, or Investor/Limited Partner and/or as a member of any Lender Services The documents will be available no later State legislature, than January 11, 2021 and signed, sealed or as an executive proposals will be accepted until 10:00 A.M. or judicial officer on February 2, 2021. ARMDC will only of any State, to be accepting physical proposals dropped off in person from 8:00 AM until the closing time of 10:00 AM on February 2, 2021 in the lobby of 100 Ross St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Proposals may uploaded to the ARMDC’s online submission site, the link is accessible via the HACP website and within the RFP. Sealed proposals may still be mailed via USPS at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

Questions or inquires should be directed to: Mr. Kim Detrick – Procurement Director/Chief Contracting Officer Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 2nd Floor, Suite 200 100 Ross Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-643-2832 A pre-submission meeting will be held via Zoom meeting; on January 21, 2021 at 11:00 A.M. Please see meeting information below: https://zoom.us/j/91712764685? pwd=TWVyWmIrMmdZa1VTYT M4dUVCRElJQT09 Meeting ID: 917 1276 4685 Passcode: 809415 Dial by your location +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) Meeting ID: 917 1276 4685 Passcode: 809415 The Allies & Ross Management and Development Corporation strongly encourage certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation.

ARMDC 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, President & CEO Allies & Ross Management and Development Corporation

ARMDC & HACP conduct 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.

THE FBI AND OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES are warning a possible return of these Jan. 6 rioters on Inauguration Day Jan. 20. (PHOTO: Hamil Harris/Trice Edney News Wire)

THE CONFEDERATE FLAG, the symbol of racial hatred and White supremacy, was among the insurrectionist paraphernalia carried into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. (PHOTO: Hamil Harris/Trice Edney News Wire) support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to

the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”

The “Day of Reawakening” video went dead

shortly after the social media website, Parler, was taken offline on Monday. Twitter and Facebook also shut down President Donald Trump’s

accounts, blocking tens of millions of his followers.

But tech experts believe these actions will simply drive Trump supporters and possible rioters to other more obscure platforms where law enforcement investigators can not easily track and monitor their organizational activities.

A string of arrests has taken place since Monday, mainly of people involved in the Capitol break in and the threats on the lives of members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who they threatened to shoot, and also threats against the life of Vice President Mike Pence, who they threatened to hang for certifying the Electoral College confirmation of the Biden-Harris election.

At least two Capitol police officers have been suspended and about 10 others are under investigation for their apparent involvement in the insurrection.

Black leaders around the country are calling for Trump’s immediate removal. They are also raising questions about why the Capitol Police and other law enforcement agencies were not better prepared and more aggressive against the perpetrators as they have been against Black Lives Matter protestors.

“What we are witnessing at this moment is the manifestation and culmination of reckless leadership, a pervasive misuse of power, and anarchy. This is not protesting or activism; this is an insurrection, an assault on our democracy, and a coup incited by President Trump,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson during the insurrection Jan. 6. “We must not allow President Trump to continue to place our nation in peril. The NAACP calls for President Trump’s impeachment so that he will never again be able to harm our beloved country, and more importantly, its people.”

Biden says police would have reacted far different with Black Lives Matter protesters

by Stacy M. Brown For New Pittsburgh Courier

( N N PA ) — P r e s i d e n t - e l e c t Joe Biden pulled no punches on Thursday when he spoke about the violent mob that rioted, looted, and ransacked the U.S. Capitol a day earlier.

The actions from the mob of President Donald Trump supporters contributed to death, destruction, and global embarrassment for the United States.

The Delaware Democrat spoke of his granddaughter sending him a photo of armed security guards and law enforcement standing at the Lincoln Memorial during a Black Lives Matter protest last year.

“She said, ‘Pop, this isn’t fair.

No one can tell me if it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, they would not have been treated very, very different than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol,’” Biden relayed.

“We all know that it is true.

And it is unacceptable. Totally unacceptable,” Biden remarked.

Black Lives Matter officials had earlier made the same observation.

In news interviews following the Capitol’s chaotic scene, Toni Sanders of Black Lives Matter called the treatment of the pro-Trump rioters a double standard.

Sanders and others took note

Get kids financially fit FINANCIALLY FIT FROM B1

4) Take them to the bank: A lot can be learned during a branch visit, including how to withdraw and deposit money or checks, how to use ATMs safely, and how to talk about setting up financial goals.

5) Talk about money values: Kids can learn a lot from knowing it’s ok to talk about money, so it’s smart to talk openly about the things you too have learned. What was the first big purchase you made on your own? How did you get that first paycheck? What was your favorite treat to buy as a kid?

Who first talked to you about money? Do you remember opening your first account?

While most children understand that money doesn’t grow on trees, it is still important that they see and experience how to shop for the things that they want and how to make smarter financial decisions. By starting to have money conversations early you’ll help them develop good habits that will last a lifetime. You’ll be surprised what you may learn from them and how quickly they’ll catch on.

(This article originally appeared in The Atlanta Voice.)

of how some of the Capitol officers opened gates and let the mob into the immediate area outside the building’s doors.

Some officers were seen taking selfies with protestors.

“I am enraged by the light treatment that these terrorists are getting,” Sanders demanded.

“They have guns. They have attacked the police. They have attacked innocent people who are just in the area, and yet they have not been beaten and teargassed and had flashbangs thrown at them the way we had all summer long. We didn’t have any weapons. All we had were our voices saying, ‘Black lives matter.’”

Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers echoed Sanders

and Biden’s comments.

“I will say it because I don’t think a lot of people want to,” Rivers announced. “Can you imagine today, if those were all Black people storming the Capitol, and what would have happened? That, to me, is a picture that is worth a thousand words for all of us to see.”

Biden also implored media members to not label the mob at the U.S. Capitol as “protestors.”

“They weren’t protesters.

Don’t dare call them protesters. They were a riotous mob, insurrectionists, domestic terrorists,” the President-Elect stated.

(Stacy M. Brown is NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent.)

Robert James appointed JAMES FROM B1

nationally for capital projects through a U.S. Department of Education program.

“As a leader in health care, we are committed to being a diverse and inclusive organization at its core, to closing the health disparity gap, and to actively investing in people, suppliers and communities of color,” said Larry Kleinman, Highmark Health Chief Human Resources Officer. “Robert’s vast experience and deliberate approach will be invaluable in driving forward a measureable and comprehensive diversity, equity and inclusion strategy.”

According to a release, James was named a Top 30 Champions of Di-

versity by Diversity Plus Magazine in 2018. He is currently an active member of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s Advisory Council for Diversity, Inclusion and Small Business Opportunities and serves as a member of its Executive Committee. James has a Master of Business and a Master of Health Administration from the University of Pittsburgh, a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center and a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College. He is also a graduate of the inaugural class of Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business/The Advanced Leadership Institute (TALI) Executive Leadership Academy.

OPINION

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

JANUARY 13-19, 2021

B3

Beyond belief?

Guest Editorial

Pennsylvania GOP’s disgraceful conduct Chaos erupted on the floor of the Pennsylvania Senate Jan. 5 when Republicans disgracefully blocked a Democratic incumbent from being sworn in because his GOP challenger has disputed election results.

The Republican challenge reflected President Donald Trump’s unprecedented efforts to undo his loss in the Nov. 3 election.

The fight followed weeks of Trump challenging President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania with baseless allegations of fraud and lawsuits that have repeatedly lost in the courts.

Trump’s failed efforts last Wednesday to get GOP members of Congress to overturn Biden’s election included eight of Pennsylvania’s nine Republican members of the U.S. House who opposed Biden’s electoral votes from the state.

Democrats in the Senate strongly protested when GOP senators moved not to seat Democratic state Sen. Jim Brewster of Allegheny County. Brewster’s election has been certified by the state but is being contested by his Republican challenger, Nicole Ziccarelli.

Sen. Anthony Williams, D-Philadelphia, was right to express outrage at GOP state lawmakers.

“There is nothing about this day that is appropriate, nothing, and we are not going to lay down and roll over” because of being outvoted, Williams said.

“This is about Pennsylvania, it’s not Democrats or Republicans, it’s not about simply winning. This is about protecting our democracy.”

Republican state lawmakers are seeking to overturn the election by committing an unprecedented abuse of their power in the majority.

Republicans motioned to remove Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democrat, as the presiding officer for the day, after Fetterman insisted that Brewster be sworn in with the other senators. Republicans then hypocritically voted through another motion to recognize the election in every Senate contest, except for Brewster’s.

Republicans have not said how long they will take to review Ziccarelli’s election challenge before voting on it, or how long the GOP majority is willing to leave the seat vacant. Republicans control the balance of power in the Senate, where the GOP holds 28 of 50 seats. Republicans also have a large majority in the House.

As Gov. Tom Wolf noted, Brewster is the rightful winner and called the Senate Republicans’ move “a shameful power grab that disgraces the institution.”

Sen. Vince Hughes, D-Philadelphia, drew the connection between state Republicans thuggish actions and Trump’s efforts to overturn the presidential election.

“It’s Trumpian in its very essence, because that’s what he’s trying to do in Washington, D.C.,” Hughes said. “Just listen to the tapes of him and the election officials in Georgia. Do you see a similarity? Do you see a connection? Do you see where this all comes together?”

Pennsylvania Republicans’ actions last Tuesday underscore the importance of local and state elections.

Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers showed they don’t belong in office.

(Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)

(TriceEdneyWire.com) — Before his death in 2017, my friend, Dick Gregory, predicted that Trump’s election would bring chaos to our country, that the military would be called to quell it, and Trump would not go quietly when his term ended.

After enjoying the Senate sweep in Georgia, my rejoicing ended abruptly. With only two weeks remaining in Trump’s term, I thought Mr. Gregory’s prediction an overreaction, but, as usual, I was wrong to question him.

Watching the assault on Congress on January 6, 2021, I was sympathetic to all who were in disbelief. It was difficult to believe that few were initially prepared to acknowledge that the violent, riotous siege was expected.

Early in his administration, Trump surrounded himself with sycophants whose sole goal was to edify the “glorious leader.” He also cultivated a coarse, cult-like following which reacted with vocal and physical belligerence at his every disappointment.

Like a spoiled child, he rejected suffering disappointments, but suffer them he did. The intensity of his childish tantrums was proportional to his disappointments. His remedy was violating or disregarding laws which were inconsistent with his goals.

Since November 7, 2020, Trump’s greatest disappointment was his reelection loss. Normally, the rational loser would concede. Trump is neither normal nor rational. Over 60 multi-state lawsuits and court

decisions have rejected his appeals, yet, in his heart or whatever he uses as one, he remains the loser. He adamantly refuses to concede.

Instead of the truth, Trump has retreated into a fantasyland which he can invite his acolytes to share his many imaginary things. Failing to obstruct the state certification of votes, January 6th became the date of last resort for him—that is, his last chance to prevent Congressional certification of the 2020 Presidential Election. That’s the short version of how we got to January 6, 2021.

In December 2020, Trump invited his Trumpeters to Washington, DC for a “wild” event to “Stop the Steal.”—a lie he uses to explain his loss. He gave a rousing speech falsely accusing “the deep state” of manipulating and stealing the election from him. Trump, Trump Jr., and Giuliani encouraged followers to go to the Capitol to express their objection to election results. Trump even promised to join them. He didn’t!

I doubt that anyone in the world blessed with a television does not know what happened next!

Trump clearly demonstrates his

(Dr. E. Faye Williams is President of the National Congress of Black Women.)

(TriceEdneyWire.com)— “The threat the president poses to our democracy is not short-lived and must be cut off urgently and decisively—before it leads to even greater degradation to American democratic processes and traditions. It will need to happen quickly, even with other demands pressing on our country’s leadership like certifying the election results, rolling out the coronavirus vaccine and calming a nation in crisis.”—Law Professors David Landau and Rosalind Dixon The events of this week have shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that every day that President Trump remains in office is a threat to our national security.

Incited by Donald Trump’s unhinged fantasies about the election he lost, a mob of his supporters smashed its way into the U.S. Capitol, terrorizing lawmakers and staff. Four people are dead.

It is stunningly clear that Donald Trump is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. He has constructed an alternate reality of conspiracy theories and wishful thinking, and unleashed a bloodthirsty mob to enforce it for him.

The nation cannot endure another two weeks of his illegal and unhinged efforts to maintain power. Vice President Pence and the Cabinet officers have a duty to invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and Pence must step in as Acting President.

We cannot speculate on the reasons for Trump’s unhinged behavior. But we cannot allow it to threaten our national security. As shocking as it was, the insurrection was not even the worst of the deadly consequences of his utter inability to face unpleasant facts. More than 360,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, with new records for one-day death tolls being broken every few days.

On the very day he was whipping an armed mob into a violent frenzy, nearly 4,000 Americans died of the virus that he has allowed to rage, virtually unchecked, throughout the nation.

Marc H. Morial

To Be Equal We do not know what the next two weeks will bring, but it almost certainly will bring more lies, more incitements to violence, and further breakdown of the functioning of the federal government at a time when we need it the most.

Inciting an insurrection is sedition. It is among the gravest of crimes against the nation. Removal from office is the very least of the consequences Donald Trump should face. But the penalties that he should pay should not be our primary concern at the moment. He must be removed for the security of the nation.

The spectacle of Confederate flags being paraded through the Capitol was a sickening reminder of his months-long crusade to invalidate ballots in states where Black voters turned out in record numbers. Outside, rioters flashed the “OK” hand signal that has been adopted as a white power symbol. They hung nooses. They flew the Kekistan flag, modeled on a German Nazi war flag.

Rather than condemn the violence, the chaos and the racism, Trump consoled the mob with words that recalled his appalling “‘very fine people on both sides” remark following a deadly White supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

“We love you, you’re very special,” he told the mob in a videotaped statement. “I know your pain; I know you’re hurt.”

Donald Trump has repeatedly forced Americans to choose between love of country, and love of Donald Trump. It is one our great failures as a nation that we have been brought to the brink of disaster by his desperate

need for constant adulation—which includes constant degradation of his political rivals and of the journalists who accurately report on his behavior.

The insurrectionists scratched “Murder the media” on a door of the Capitol. They smashed journalists’ equipment and assaulted a photographer.

“What is the downside for humoring him for this little bit of time?” an unnamed Republican official asked with regard to the support some members have given to Trump’s election fantasies.

The answer is horrifyingly clear.

Congress must formally censure every member who stoked the insurrection by promoting Trump’s fictitious narratives and baseless conspiracy theories about the election. This includes those who supported falsehood-based objections to the counting of electoral votes.

While they may consider their lies nothing more than political theater, “the prop revolvers were loaded with live bullets, and half the audience thought the drama was real,” professors Henry Farrell and Elizabeth N. Saunders wrote in the Washington Post.

We can take a measure of solace that the mob failed to prevent Congress from completing its count of the electoral votes and confirming that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the lawful President-elect and Vice President-elect.

Furthermore, the results of yesterday’s runoff election in Georgia offer hope that the incoming Senate will take its constitutional responsibilities seriously. Senators-elect Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff will replace two senators who supported and encouraged Trump’s election fantasies.

But we cannot afford to wait for Congress to act. Vice President Pence and the members of the Cabinet are well aware of their responsibility under the constitution. They must act now to protect the country or bear responsibility for any tragedy that results from Trump’s worsening recklessness.

Black folks should focus on our strengths

Founded 1910

Rod Doss Editor & Publisher Stephan A. Broadus Assistant to the Publisher Allison Palm

Rob Taylor Jr.

Jeff Marion

Office Manager

Managing Editor

Circulation Consultant

John. H. Sengstacke

Commentary

disregard for voting Americans of color. His efforts to overturn votes are focused on urban areas central to populations of color.

Trump clearly demonstrates his disregard for the rule of law. He has shown his belief that his personal interests supersede the lawful conduct of elections and the expressed “will” of America’s voters.

Trump clearly demonstrates his disregard for the health and welfare of Americans. By inciting his followers to lay siege upon the Capitol, he placed them in jeopardy of injury and death—at least four people died, and many others were injured!

Trump clearly demonstrates his disregard for the edifice and essence of our democratic republic. He incited a mob of insurrectionists to assault the Congressional Complex in order to delay or halt the House and Senate in the conduct of their Constitutionally mandated duties.

The extent of vandalism has not yet been measured.

My readers know that I consider voting the most important right and responsibility of citizenship. It is the primary expression of my voice as a citizen. Trump’s efforts to rework the vote count of a legitimate election by “finding” new votes or by attempting to coerce state officials into illegal acts are inexcusable.

Our democracy is a fragile commodity. Faults notwithstanding, we mustn’t relinquish it to an autocrat whose only design is to use it for self-aggrandizement.

For the security of the nation, Donald Trump must be removed from office immediately

by A. Peter Bailey

Editor & Publisher Emeritus (1912-1997)

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—It is way past the time for serious Black folks in this country to resolve that in 2021 we are focused all of our attention on identifying, analyzing and building upon our strengths as individuals and as a group. This will do much more to protect our economic, cultural, political, educational, health, legal, technological and self-defense interests than using our meetings to tell can-youtop-this horror stories about the latest actions of white supremacists. If we build upon our strengths, it will send a clear message to those whose goal is to keep us in a permanent position of second-classhood.

Contrary to popular propaganda and beliefs of our enemies and, unfortu-

nately, too many Black people, we do have strengths. Only a strong group of people could have survived the physical and psychological attacks that have been inflicted on us in a basically White supremacist society.

That’s why one of the first things we should do is put together a national conference during which we will have divisions in the above listed arenas of economics, culture, politics, health, education, legal, technology and self-defense. Each division would be required to come up with plans of action in their field that will advance our group’s interests in their particular field of action. If a hostile move is made by proponents of White supremacy against us in their arena they should be able to provide us with concrete guidance on how to deal with it.

Believe me, I am well aware that what I am proposing is not going to happen overnight. But I do believe that there are enough serious Black folks in this country to begin laying the groundwork in 2021. I share the belief expressed by the great journalist-historian Lerone Bennett Jr. who noted that “Given the way we are forced to live in this society, the miracle is not that so many families are broken, but that so many are still together. That so many Black fathers are still at home.

That so many Black mothers are still raising good children. It is the incredible toughness and resilience in Black people that gives me hope.” Those of us who share Brother Lerone’s hope most definitely must walk the walk in 2021.

FORUM

B4 JANUARY 13-19, 2021

Was the insurrection an inside job?

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—If you watched the disgraceful invasion of the United States Capitol and the horrific destruction that took place on January 6, you observed a legion of limited-intelligence low-life louts. But you’d be mistaken if that’s all you thought of the Trump-incited mob. Those people could not have infiltrated the Capitol without the help of some “law enforcement” officers in the Capitol.

Somebody had to open locked doors and side entrances. Somebody had to tell the invaders where certain Congressional offices were. And too many Capitol police officers took selfies with the invaders and treated them with extreme courtesy...going so far as to open doors for them and even walk them down steps. Why were the Capitol police so woefully unprepared for the throngs of people who had been communicating by Internet since an unhinged 45th President invited them to the Capitol weeks ago, on December 18?

Contrast that under preparation to the army of thousands that Black Lives Matter activists faced this summer. The contrast was stark.

After the invasion passed, many speculated about the inside nature of this invasion.

Some of the Capitol police seemed to feel quite comfortable, even chummy, with the invaders. Why shouldn’t they be? Some members of the mob might be their cousins. There is a historical relationship between so-called law enforcement and White supremacy, so it is easy to believe that the Capitol invaders may have had help from the inside.

We could go into history to explore the founding of the Ku Klux Klan and its purpose to terrorize and otherwise oppress Black people.

We could explore how many Klan members were also “law enforcement” officers. In Wilmington, North Carolina, we could consider how

Julianne Malveaux

Commentary sheriffs deputized more than two hundred racist civilians to force Black people to turn their property over to them and leave town. But if we had to go back to the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, that would allow us to talk about how much our nation has changed instead of focusing on the intransigence of the myth of White supremacy.

Michael German of the DC-based Brennan Center for Justice released a report in the fall that explored law enforcement and White supremacists’ connection. Titled, Hidden in Plain Sight: Racism, White Supremacy, and Far-Right Militancy in Law Enforcement, the report is a comprehensive exploration of racism in law enforcement. It documents notes ties between law enforcement and “violent racist and militant groups.” It says that the FBI has not appropriately responded to the threat that is posed from this connection.

But, according to German, “Despite the FBI’s acknowledgement of the links between law enforcement and these suspected terrorists, the Justice Department has no national strategy designed to identify White supremacist police officers or to protect the safety and civil rights of the communities they patrol.”

The Brennan report appropriately notes that “only a tiny percentage of law enforcement officials are likely to be active members of White supremacist groups.” But even a tenth of a percent is enough. It only takes one-armed White supremacist to aid and abet the terrorists who stormed the Capitol. It only takes one to unlock a door. It only takes one to turn the other way as terrorists bring weapons into the Capitol.

The Brennan report documents several cases of White supremacists law enforcement “officers” who collect Klan paraphernalia, participate in racist social media posts, rant rhetoric on their government-issued radios, and more. Few face any consequences. Some have supervisors or police chiefs who look the other way. Others have police union backing and often claim their First Amendment free speech rights. How does their racism affect their ability to enforce the law? Ask Breona Taylor, or George Floyd, or Tamir Rice or Sandra Bland.

Why have federal, state, and local law enforcement failed to tackle evidence of virulent racism among police officers? No wonder there is so little trust between law enforcement and the Black community. If there were an active attempt to combat law enforcement racism, it would be almost unthinkable that anyone could see the Trump insurrection as an inside job. But there has been no such attempt, perhaps because too many police officers are either outright racists or have sympathy with these racists.

What to do? In March 2019, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (D) introduced the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act. It gained 22 cosponsors but was never put on the floor for a vote.

Durbin has now said he will reintroduce the legislation soon. The Brennan report offers other recommendations, including diversity training, anti-racist enforcement, and the development of a database for law enforcement officers, since so many move from city to city, carrying their racist attitudes with them.

Was there an inside job with this Trump insurrection? It is likely, and I look forward to the inevitable investigation and its results.

One can’t write about the insurrection without noting the murder of Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. He was doing his work and defending the Capitol, and its flag has been flying half-mast in his honor. It is telling that the White House has not lowered its flag, perhaps because they so forcefully incited the terrorists who invaded our Capitol. Inside job?

The rot goes straight to the top.

(Dr. Julianne Malveaux is a D.C.-based economist and author.)

NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER

Attempted coup or deplorable Oscar H. Blayton Commentary act of the powerless?

During the rise and fall of Donald Trump, both political parties developed Trump derangement.

the other half of Trump supporters as people that felt “the government has let them down.”

For those Trump supporters, Trump wasn’t a demagogue, he was a savior.

However, Trump wasn’t reelected in 2020.

Immediately, the Trump campaign alleged widespread voter fraud in the battleground states. Trump devotees translated that to mean the election was “stolen from them.” Trump’s legal team mounted legal challenges on the president’s behalf, but in court, Trump’s lawyers never pursued election fraud.

Trump’s lawyers focused primarily on voting irregularities. Meanwhile, Trump devotees were under the impression that Trump’s legal team could overturn the election results due to massive fraud.

Eventually, the courts dismissed all of Trump’s legal challenges. The electoral college voted on Dec. 14, officially ending the 2020 presidential race, but Trump refused to concede and acknowledge that Joe Biden won the presidency.

Desperate and in denial, Trump decided to hold a rally in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, the same day Congress was scheduled to certify the electoral votes from each state. Trump called on Vice President Pence to halt the ceremonial proceedings, a last-minute idea Pence didn’t bother to entertain. Trump held his final rally right before Congress convened to certify the electoral votes.

However, once Trump devotees discovered the vice president didn’t answer their savior’s call and Trump himself was powerless to resurrect his presidency, they took matters into their own hands, and the grand finale of Trump devotion ended in a deadly delusion of grandeur.

Trump devotees overran the Capitol police and aimlessly stormed inside the U.S. Capitol in order to stop a ceremonial event. The police eventually restored order and Congress reconvened after a temporary delay.

The next day headlines read: “Attempted coup at the Capitol—4 dead.”

But labeling this riot at the Capitol an “attempted coup d’état” is a viewpoint from Trump derangement. This was nothing but a pathetic display of powerlessness by deranged people attempting to stop what couldn’t be prevented.

Democracy was never in danger or even threatened from this outcry of the defeated. Unfortunately, those that believed this tragic event undermined American democracy are still under Trump derangement.

J. Pharoah Doss

Check It Out

The Rise The American Spectator, a conservative publication, first used the term Trump derangement during the 2016 presidential primary to describe “ruling class Republicans” who found Trump uncouth and unfit for the presidency. Then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton called half of Trump’s supporters “deplorables,” which meant racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, and Islamophobic. This encouraged derangement toward Trump’s growing base.

After Clinton’s 2016 presidential defeat, Trump derangement intensified.

Days after the election, ABC News reported: Tens of thousands protest Trump’s victory—124 people were arrested. “Not My President” demonstrations were in 15 major cities across the country. ABC stated these demonstrations were mostly peaceful, but ABC also reported damage, vandalism, highway shutdowns, fires, and injuries to police and protesters.

During the presidential transition period Politico reported: “Half-dozen Democratic electors have signed onto an attempt to block Donald Trump from winning the Electoral College. These Democratic electors knew their plans would fail. But they hoped their efforts would erode confidence in the Electoral College.”

Finally, the day after Trump’s presidential inauguration, Reuters reported: “Black-clad activists, among hundreds of demonstrators protesting Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, clashed with police a few blocks from the White House, in an outburst of violence rare for an inauguration.”

What did the post-election and inauguration protest accomplish?

Idealists might say they made their voices heard, but it was just the outcry of the defeated. It didn’t accomplish anything because protesting is done by those powerless to prevent whatever they are protesting from happening.

The Fall CNN commentator, Fareed Zakaria, eventually defined Trump derangement as “hatred of president Trump so intense that it impairs people’s judgement.”

But Trump derangement wasn’t just rooted in hatred, it was also rooted in devotion.

After Clinton called half of Trump supporters deplorables, she referred to

‘All involved must be held accountable’ in Capitol attack From the presiIn recent years, dent of the United the effort to reassert K. Sabeel Rahman States downward, White supremacy has all involved— manifested in rewhether via their strictive immigration actions or their failpolicies, Tea Parure to act—must be ty disruptions, and held accountable. massive MAGA ral“The horrific aslies. Yesterday, that sault yesterday on effort took the form the Capitol was of ethnonationalists not a protest. This was a failed coup attaking selfies with Capitol Police and tempt deliberately designed to circumbreaking and entering into lawmakvent the will of the people with the goal ers’ offices, in stark contrast to the of keeping in place the flawed leadermilitarized police presence deployed ship that was overwhelmingly defeated on Black and brown Americans when in the November elections. From the they protest peacefully. We have a duty president of the United States downand responsibility to take action now ward, all involved—whether via their and create a radically more equitable, actions or their failure to act—must be stable, and inclusive democracy for our held accountable. future.

“Let there be no doubt: This was an “First and foremost, we must purattack on every American who risked sue the immediate lawful removal their well-being during a global panof President Trump from his office, demic to participate in our democratic whether through the invocation of the process and elect a new President and 25th Amendment or through a fora new Congress. Notably, this attack mal impeachment process. Secondly, came the day after Black and Brown the 117th Congress must investigate Americans once again lifted their voices the lawmakers, Capitol Police and meand voted to yield historic change in dia outlets complicit in inciting this Georgia, securing a place for progresattack and others like it. sive values in the U.S. Senate. These Lastly, and perhaps most importantattacks will not be successful. The ly, America must commit to enacttransition of power will continue and a ing long-term structural democracy Biden-Harris administration will begin reforms, such as the For the People on January 20 alongside a new ConAct (H.R. 1) and the John Lewis Votgress. ing Rights Act, to ensure free and fair “We are facing a foe far bigger than elections and safeguard our democratic this moment. Yesterday’s assault was process. We also must strongly consider not an isolated incident but rathfurther structural reforms encompasser an insurrection centuries in the ing everything from the abolishing of making. From the forcible removal the Electoral College to the democraof Native Americans from their own tizing of the Senate and addressing the land to the enslavement and torture economic inequities that contribute to of Black bodies, America has sancpolitical inequality. tioned White supremacy since its “At this perilous time for our democinception. White supremacy has beaten racy, may we remember that we the back previous attempts at forging an people have the power—and the responinclusive, multiracial democracy, from sibility—to save it.”

(K. Sabeel Rahman is President of Demos, a the forcible creation of Jim Crow undoing the hard-fought victories of the Civil “think-and-do” tank that powers the movement for a just, inclusive, multiracial democracy.)

War to the backlash against economic justice, gender justice, and racial justice movements of the 20th century.

Commentary

America is choking Two weeks after Donald Trump’s 2016 inauguration as president of the United States, I wrote a commentary titled “America Chose Donald Trump, Now It Will Choke on Him.” It has been four years in coming, but America has finally choked.

On Jan. 6, 2021, as the U. S. Congress was on the verge of ceremoniously certifying Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election and attesting that he would become the 46th president of the United States, Trump incited a violent mob of thugs to riot and attack the U.S. Capitol for the purpose of effecting a coup that he hoped would allow him to remain in office.

There is no question that Trump sought to void a lawful election using violence and intimidation when he whipped this mob into a destructive frenzy that resulted in an insurrection.

But while Trump lit the match that ignited the flames of insurgency, it must be kept in mind that the rioting mob was comprised of Americans who claimed to be aggrieved for one imagined reason or another.

It is no surprise that a majority of White voters wanted to give this human dumpster fire another four years in order to drive this country further into rack and ruin. But it should be surprising that a large percentage of White voters who did not vote for Trump enabled him to rise to the highest seat of power in America.

While our White friends did not vote for this dangerous bigot, too few of them said anything or did anything to try to dissuade their mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, neighbors and co-workers from voting for him.

It is time for our White friends to stop standing on the sidelines with sad faces as their loved ones and neighbors cheer Trump as he spews his most hateful and racist rhetoric. It is time for those White friends to confront these bigoted people and demand that they be better citizens and better people.

It is also time for people of color to stop tiptoeing around those of our White friends who give their friends and relatives a pass when it comes to bigoted behavior.

This is an uncomfortable conversation that no one wants to have because it lays bare the failure our friends to support our right to be treated equally as human beings while indicting ourselves for enabling them to ignore our mistreatment in America.

Once we begin this pushing, if our White friends are willing to allow people of color to be abused by acts of White supremacy for the sake of harmonious relations with their White friends and family members, then it will be clear their friendship with us has limitations. It is as clear as when the White friends of our Southern childhood would play with us in their yards but not dare to allow us to enter their homes.

There are those who may try to normalize what happened during the Trump years as “just politics.” They may try to tell us that the Muslim ban was not really a ban against any one religion or even that locking children in cages was not as bad as it appeared to be. They may try to convince us that they did not know that Trump was as bad as he was. They may try to explain that Trump’s calling NFL players “sons of bitc***” for taking a knee during the playing of the National Anthem was just his reaction to what he saw as an attack against our national symbol. But that does not square with his calling the insurrectionists who vandalized the U.S. Capitol while attempting to carry out a coup against our government “very special people” and telling them that he loved them.

On Jan. 6, we got a good hard look at the enemies of America, and the enemies are us. The enemies are certainly those who attacked democracy by assaulting the seat of our national government. But the enemies are also those of us willing to give a pass to their loved ones who are the haters and killers that go berserk at the thought of racial equality. And the enemies are those of us people of color who subsume our best interest for the sake of harmonious friendships with people who are willing to allow us to be hung from the gnarled tree of White supremacy.

As Ibram X. Kendi points out in his book How To Be An Antiracist, “The opposite of ‘racist’ isn’t ‘not racist,’ it’s ‘antiracist.’” And we are choking as a nation because Donald Trump has shoved racism down America’s throat and America will continue to choke on it until we all become antiracists.

It is time for people of color to put our White friends on the spot and call out their complacency with the bigotry and racial hatred of their loved ones. We cannot move forward as a nation if we are content to stay tucked away in our separate comfort zones. This country will move forward only when each one of us steps forward.

(Oscar H. Blayton is a former Marine Corps combat pilot and human rights activist who practices law in Virginia.)

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JOB OPPORTUNITIES

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Help Wanted

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SOFTWARE ENGINEERS Duolingo, Inc. has multiple openings for Software Engineers in Pittsburgh, PA to perform software engineering tasks on Duolingo’s language education software. Please apply to jobs@duolingo.com and refer to Software Engineer and job number 123020 in the subject line to be considered for the role.

TRANSIT POLICE OFFICER Port Authority is seeking full-time r ce Officer . A Transit olice fficer is responsible for ensuring the safety of Port Authority customers, staff and property throughout the areas it serves. Officers must enforce all local state and federal laws on and around our transit system.

Essential Functions: •Acts in accordance with rules, regulations, and procedures as a s orn police officer of the om monwealth of Pennsylvania.

•Knows all areas of Allegheny County and is able to respond to those areas in a timely manner.

•Be present at daily roll call, as required, properly uniformed and equipped; receive orders, details, etc.; proceed to assignment by the most direct route immediately following roll call.

•Investigate all suspicious persons and activity within sector as pertains to Port Authority.

Job requirements include: •High School Diploma or GED. •Valid PA Driver’s License.

•Current Act 120 certification or candidate must successfully pass the ct certification test prior to an interview.

•Successful completion of administered ritten olice fficer e am •Successful completion of administered fitness e am •Basic clerical skills.

•Ability to observe and analyze situations objectively and respond appropriately.

•Ability to handle emotionally charged situations.

•Ability to act quickly and calmly in emergency situations.

•Professional and effective communication skills to include: •Ability to communicate orally and in writing in a clear and concise manner.

•Ability to understand and execute oral and written instructions.

•Successfully complete/maintain the following required training: early firearm qualifications ith a department authori ed firearm •Maintain Basic First Aid and CPR/ ertification •Yearly mandatory in-service training. ob specific training as required •Ability to work various shifts, pass days, weekends/holidays, as required.

•This a Safety-Sensitive position subject to all testing provisions under the Drug and Alcohol Policy, including random drug and alcohol testing. The person selected for this position may be required to be tested prior to being awarded the job.

We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits pac age nter ested candidates should forward a cover letter and resume to: Amy Giammanco Employment Department 345 Sixth Avenue, 3rd Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527 AGiammanco@portauthority.org EOE APPLICATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE POSITION OF POLICE OFFICER ALTOONA POLICE DEPARTMENT Applications for the position of Police fficer with the City of Altoona may be obtained from the Human Resources Department at City Hall, 1301 12th Street, Suite 301, Altoona, PA, weekdays between 8:30 A.M. and 4:30 P.M. For additional information, view Employment Opportunities at www.altoonapa.gov.

The City of Altoona is an Equal Opportunity Employer

PRODUCT MANAGER, USER ENGAGEMENT Duolingo, Inc. has multiple openings for Product Manager, User Engagement in Pittsburgh, PA. Duties include: Employ engineer-level data analysis skills to analyze & apply user engagement metrics to drive product features through their entire creative cycle; Collaborate with design & engineering to identify key metrics & KPIs that ensures all future product iterations are targeted towards improving user engagement; Perform qualitative & quantitative research, including A/B testing, to identify new user engagement indicators; Manage cross-organizational collaboration by providing user engagement driven input for executive meetings, weekly team meetings, brainstorms, sprint planning, design planning, & feature kickoffs; Maximi e all teams efficiency including engineering, design, & marketing, while maintaining e ibility in planning processes; Analyze internal & external data to determine new opportunities for user engagement; Use data to identify key performance indicators & develop a roadmap to user engagement driven objectives & key results (OKRs). Requirements: MBA degree & Bachelor’s degree in ngineering field ust ha e no l edge of the following: (1) Calculus; (2) Probability; (3) Machine Learning; (4) Statistical Computing; (5) Programming Language R & Python; (6) Competitive Strategy; (7) Web Software.

Email resume to jobs@duolingo.com with Job No. ProdMgrUE2021 and title “Product Manager, User Engagement” in subject line.

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THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH’S BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETINGS The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh’s Board of Commissioners passed a resolution on 12/17/20 to hold its 2021 monthly meetings on the following Thursdays in 2021.

The meetings will be held via Zoom Teleconferencing.

2021 HACP Board Meeting Dates:

Thursday, January 28, 2021 Thursday, February 25, 2021 Thursday, March 25, 2021 Thursday, April 22, 2021 Thursday, May 27, 2021 Thursday, June 24, 2021 Thursday, July 22, 2021 NO BOARD MEETING IN AUGUST Thursday, September 23, 2021 Thursday, October 28, 2021 NO BOARD MEETING IN NOVEMBER Thursday, December 16, 2021

Bids/Proposals

Estate of MS. MARY DAUGHERTY, Deceased of 1220 1st Avenue, Coraopolis, PA 15108, Estate No. 02-20-06688, Mr. Brian Daugherty, 315 Elkwood Drive, Moon Township, PA 15108, Executor, c/o Max C. Feldman, Esquire and the a ffices of a eldman ifth Avenue, Coraopolis, PA 15108 Estate of MICHELE S. LANDIS A/K/A MICHELE LANDIS, Deceased of Upper St. Clair, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Estate No. 02-20-06638, Julie Lee Capane, Executor, 1807 Tilton Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15241 or to ROBIN L. RARIE, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC. 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017 Estate of MS. ALICE QUINN, Deceased of 5501 Jane Street, PIttsburgh, PA 15225, Estate No. 0220-06338, Ms. Mary Alice Knause, Executrix, c/o a eldman squire and the a ffices of Max C. Feldman, 1322 Fifth Avenue, Coraopolis, PA 15108 Estate of MR. RALPH DANIEL DELTONDO , Deceased of 43 Gordon Street, McKees Rocks, PA 15136, Estate No. 02-20-02417. Ms Suzan Schanin, Executrix, c/o Max C. Feldman, Esquire and the a ffices of a eldman Fifth Avenue, Coraopolis, PA 15108 Estate of LINDA T. LOTH , Deceased of Moon Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Estate No. 02-20-06690. Matthew A. Haag, Executor, 3002 Fallbrook Drive, Coraopolis, PA 15108 or to S. Jeffery Haag, Executor, 512 Scott Lane Venetia, PA 15367 or to TODD A. FULLER, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC. 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017 Estate of MR. EDWARD M. DEMEOLO A/K/A EDWARD DEMEOLO , Deceased of 1886 Anderson Avenue, Moon Township, PA 15108, Estate No. 02-20-06833. Ms. Kimberly Henry, Executrix, c/o Max C. Feldman, Esquire and the a ffices of a eldman Fifth Avenue, Coraopolis, PA 15108

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Estate of MR. EUGENE NICOLETTI, Deceased of 4627 Elizabeth Street, Coraopolis, PA, 15108, Estate No. 02-20-0015, Mr. Robert Lockerbie, 4627 Elizabeth Street, Coraopolis, PA 15108, Administrator, c/o Max C. Feldman, Esquire and the a ffices of a eldman Fifth Avenue, Coraopolis, PA 15108

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HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR COMPLIANCE CONSULTANT SERVICES RFP #125-03-21 The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified irms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Compliance Consultant Services The documents will be available no later than January 11, 2021 and signed, sealed proposals will be accepted until 9:00 A.M. on February 2, 2021. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh will only be accepting physical proposals dropped off in person from 8:00 AM until the closing time of 9:00 AM on February 2, 2021 in the lobby of 100 Ross St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219.

Proposals may uploaded to the Authority’s online submission site, the link is accessible via the HACP website and within the RFP. Sealed proposals may still be mailed via USPS 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 in responding may download a copy of the Solicitation from the Business Opportunities page of www.HACP.org.

Questions or inquires should be directed to: Mr. Kim Detrick Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-643-2832 A pre-submission meeting will be held via Zoom meeting; on January 21, 2021 at 09:00 A.M. Please see meeting information below: Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 926 2655 1968 Passcode: 099978 +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and women business enterprises to respond to this solicitation.

HACP’s has revised their website.

As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/ RFPs documentation.

Caster D. Binion, Executive Director Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh

HACP conducts business in accordance with all federal, state, and local civil rights laws, including but not limited to Title VII, the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, The PA Human Relations Act, etc. and does not discriminate against any individuals protected by these statutes.

COMBINED NOTICE OF FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT AND NOTICE OF INTENT TO REQUEST RELEASE OF FUNDS (FONSI/RROF) This Notice is published pursuant to Federal Regulations promulgated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Environmental Assessment set forth at 24 CFR Part 58, Section 58.36 January 13, 2021 ffice of anagement udget Community Development Division City of Pittsburgh City County Building, Room 501 414 Grant Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-255-2211 These notices shall satisfy two separate but related procedural requirements for activities to be undertaken by the name of The City of Pittsburgh and the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh.

REQUEST FOR RELEASE OF FUNDS On or about February 2, 2021, the City of Pittsburgh will authorize HACP to submit a request to HUD for the release of the following federal funds to undertake the project known as Oak Hill Burrows Views: (a) HACP Moving to Work (MTW) Funds under the 1937 Act as modified by the 1996 and 1999 Consolidated Appropriations Act (approximately $1,000,000); and (b) Low Income Housing Tax Credits under IRS Code Section 42 (approximately $8,448,620); and (c) Project-Based Rental Assistance pursuant to Section 8 of the 1937 Act and the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) pursuant to Notice H-2019-09 PIH2019-23(HA).

The release of the aforementioned funds will be for the purposes of developing Oak Hill Burrows Views, which includes new construction of 123-units of mixed income housing comprised of two 4-story garden style apartment buildings ith ele ators containing appro imately fifty four (54) units each, at 219 Burrows Street and 239 Burrows Street, and 15 two-story townhouse units, located in four clusters on adjacent parcels along Benson Place and Turner Place in the Terrace Village neighborhood of the City of Pittsburgh, 15213. As part of this notice, the project requires the implementation of a set of development activities related to the completion of this project which may include, and is not limited to, demolition, acquisition, disposition, new construction, and remediation on the part of HACP, BCJ Partners II LLC, and Burrow Views Oak Hill LLC (the owner entity) and any other authorized parties to the project. The total projected cost of the development is approximately $31,000,000.

FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT he ity of ittsburgh has determined that the pro ect ill ha e no signifi cant 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). The ERR will be made available to the public for review either electronically or by U.S. mail. Please submit your request by mail to ity of ittsburgh ffice of anagement and udget Grant St, City County Building Room 501, Pittsburgh, Pa 15219 or by email to Whitney.Finnstrom@pittsburghpa.gov.

PUBLIC COMMENTS Any individual, group, or agency may submit written comments on the ERR to: Whitney Finnstrom City of Pittsburgh 414 Grant St Room 501 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-255-2211 OR Whitney.Finnstrom@pittsburghpa.gov All comments received by February 1, 2021, 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 he ity of ittsburgh 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 HUD s appro al of the certification satisfies its responsibilities under NEPA and related laws and authorities and allows the City and HACP use funding sources (a) through (c) identified under equest for elease of Funds above.

OBJECTIONS TO RELEASE OF FUNDS HUD will accept objections to its release of fund and the City of Pittsburgh’s certification for a period of fifteen days follo ing 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 as not e ecuted by the ertifying fficer of the ity of ittsburgh (b) the City of Pittsburgh has omitted a step or failed to ma e 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 ritten finding that the pro ect is unsatisfactory from the standpoint of environmental quality. Objections must be prepared and submitted via email in accordance with the required procedures (24 CFR Part 58, Sec. 58.76) and shall be addressed to the HUD ield ffice of Public Housing in Pittsburgh at PittsburghPIH.ER@hud.gov.

Potential objectors should contact the HUD ield ffice of ublic ousing in Pittsburgh via email to verify the actual last day of the objection period.

WILLIAM PEDUTO Mayor City of Pittsburgh LEGAL AD REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS The Allegheny County Department of Human Services recently issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for Family-Centered Service Coordination for Families Involved with Child Welfare and Mental Health Services. Proposals are due by 3 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, February 9, 2021.

For more details and submission information, visit: www.alleghenycounty. us/Human-Services/Resources/ Doing-Business/Solicitations-(RFP/ RFQ/RFI).aspx.

Marc Cherna Director

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OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield ntrance obby outh ellefield enue ittsburgh a 15213, on February 2, 2021, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for: Various Schools and Buildings Water Cooler Replacement Phase 4 General and Electrical Primes Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on Monday, January 11, 2021 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 non-refundable. Project details and dates are described in each project manual.

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Bids/Proposals

Bids/Proposals

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BID (IFB) FOR 412 BLVD OF THE ALLIES OFFICE BUILD OUT, AMP-PA0010000099 HACP IFB NO. 600-01-21 THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH will receive sealed bids for the l d of the llies ffice uild ut – PA0010000099 he construction or is estimated to begin in April of 2021. id ocuments ill be a ailable on or about Monday, January 4, 2021 and may be obtained from the ousing uthority of the ity of Pittsburgh’s webpage, www.hacp.org. Bidders may register on the ebsite and do nload the bid documents free of charge. Electronic versions of the id ocuments including bid forms pro ect manual and dra ings can be pic ed up in person (by appointment) Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at: ousing uthority of the ity of ittsburgh rocurement epartment oss treet uite ittsburgh te e ra iani ro ect anager

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB) FOR ELECTROSTATIC CLEANING AND DISINFECTION OF HACP PROPERTIES IFB #250-02-21 he ousing uthority of the ity of ittsburgh (HACP) hereby request bids from qualified irms or ndi iduals capable of pro iding the follo ing ser ice s Electrostatic Cleaning and Disinfection of HACP Properties he documents ill be a ailable no later than January 4, 2021 and signed sealed bids ill be accepted until 10:00 A.M. on January 26, 2021. he ousing uthority of the ity of ittsburgh ill only be accepting physical bids dropped off in person from 8:00 AM until the bid opening time of 10:00 AM on January 26, 2021 in the lobby of oss t ittsburgh ids may uploaded to the uthority s online submission site the lin is accessible via the HCP website and within the IFB ealed bids may still be mailed ia USPS at hich time they ill be ime and ate tamped at oss treet nd loor uite ittsburgh arties or indi iduals interested in responding may do nload a copy of the olicitation from the usiness pportunities page of www.HACP.org.

A Pre-Bid Conference and Site Visit will be held on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at 10:00 a.m.: asement onference oom 412 Blvd of the Allies ittsburgh (Meet in Lobby) idders shall come prepared to re ie all aspects of the construction site necessary to prepare a bid Bids will be received at: rocurement epartment oss treet uite ittsburgh ttn im etric irector of rocurement until 10:00 a.m. February 18, 2021 at hich time and place all bids ill be received.

HACP ill also accept online submissions for this n itation for id in addition to accepting submissions at our oss treet office or respondents ishing to submit online please access the instructions proided in the pro ect manual to submit the bid digitally n addition to the electronic submittal abo e he ousing uthority of the ity of ittsburgh ill only be accepting physical bids dropped off in person from 8:00 AM until the bid opening time of 10:00 AM on February 18, 2021 in the lobby of oss t ittsburgh ealed bids may still be mailed ia USPS at hich time they ill be ime and ate tamped at oss treet nd loor uite ittsburgh ll bids must be recei ed at the above address no later than February 18, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. regardless of the selected deli ery mechanism THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH reser es the right to ai e any informality in or re ect any and all bids o bid shall be withdrawn for a period of si ty (60) days subsequent to the opening of bids ithout the consent of the HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH. he ontractor ill be required to comply ith all applicable qual mployment pportunity requirements for ederally ssisted onstruction ontracts he ontractor must ensure that employees and applicants for employment are not discriminated against because of race color religion se ual preference handicap or national origin HACP has revised its website. As part of those re isions endors must no register and log in in order to ie and download IFB/RFP documentation.

THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH STRONGLY ENCOURAGES CERTIFIED MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES AND WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES TO RESPOND TO THE SOLICITATION. dditional information may be obtained by contacting im etric irector of rocurement at pt Caster D. Binion, Executive Director HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH

conducts business in accordance ith all federal state and local ci il rights la s including but not limited to itle the air ousing ct ection of the ehabilitation ct of the mericans ith isabilities ct he uman elations ct etc and does not discriminate against any indi iduals protected by these statutes

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uestions or inquires should be directed to: r im etric ousing uthority of the ity of ittsburgh rocurement epartment 100 Ross Street nd loor uite ittsburgh pre bid meeting ill be held ia call in; on January 14, 2021 at 10:00 A.M. Please see call in information belo Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 916 5857 4126 Passcode: 676027 +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) he ousing uthority of the ity of ittsburgh strongly encourages certified minority business enterprises and omen business enterprises to respond to this solicitation.

HACP’s has revised their website. As part of those revisions, vendors must now register and log-in, in order to view and download IFB/RFPs documentation.

Caster D. Binion, Executive Director HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH

conducts business in accordance ith all federal state and local ci il rights la s including but not limited to itle the air ousing ct ection of the ehabilitation ct of the mericans ith isabilities ct he uman elations ct etc and does not discriminate against any indi iduals protected by these statutes

OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the dministration uilding ellefield ntrance obby outh ellefield enue ittsburgh a on January 25, 2021 until 2:00 P.M. local pre ailing time for: Various Schools Wireless and Switching Equipment / Related Services Low Voltage / Network Primes and Vendors All proposers must email David Moore at dmoore1@pghschools.org in advance of downloading the documentation in order to be added to mailing list for communication regarding this RFP. his ill ensure that each proposer is notified of any changes or clarifications made ith regards to the documentation he documentation for the equest for Proposal (RFP) will be available for download at: https://www.pghschools.org/ Page/50 ilename “Network Switch and Wireless Equipment RFP” etails for the proposal and submission requirements are described in the RFP.

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Bids/Proposals

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PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY ADVERTISEMENT eparate sealed ids for the or as listed hereinafter ill be recei ed at the urchasing and aterials anagement epartment of ort uthority of llegheny ounty (Authority) ein enter i th enue hird loor ittsburgh ennsyl ania until 1:30 p.m. on February 9, 2021 (Please call Cindy Denner at (412) 566-5117 prior to arriving at this location – all participants must provide and wear a mask at all times and practice minimum social distancing of 6 feet between other individuals) and will be opened and read at 2:00 p.m. via teleconference at (toll free phone number: 1-855-453-6957 and conference ID #4485786) ach idder shall be solely responsible for assuring that its id is both recei ed and time stamped by a representati e of the urchasing and aterials anagement epartment at or before the ad ertised time for submission of ids idders submitting bids ia FedEx, UPS, USPS or other carrier must immediately pro ide trac ing information to the assigned contract specialist ia e mail pon deli ery bidder ill notify the assigned contract specialist ith an e mailed receipt ids recei ed or time stamped in the urchasing and aterials anagement epartment after the ad ertised time for the submission of ids shall be non responsi e and therefore ineligible for Award.

NEGLEY STATION IMPROVEMENTS SYS-21-03 he or of this ro ect includes but is not limited to arious e terior reno ations at egley tation or may include alterations of e isting materials and ne construction hich ill be phased to allo rider access during the entire construction period or generally includes selecti e demolition concrete al all ramp stair and oint repair unit masonry repair replace concrete stairs and metal railings oint sealant or gla ing or painting of arious substrates including metal railings signage tactile arning surfaces and ne site furnishings replace site lighting poles and fi tures all lighting fi tures and accent lighting fi tures replacing photoelectric cells replace de ices repair and replace conduit and conductors and concrete repair around electrical items id ocuments ill be a ailable for public inspection and may be obtained on or after January 11, 2021 at uthority s offices at the follo ing address (If you are picking up bid documents, please call Cindy Denner at (412) 566-5117 prior to arriving at this location - all participants must provide and wear a mask at all times and practice minimum social distancing of 6 feet between other individuals): ort uthority of llegheny ounty urchasing and aterials anagement epartment ein enter i th enue hird loor ittsburgh ennsyl ania id ocuments are a ailable for purchase as follo s id ocuments are a ailable in an electronic form on compact dis upon payment of $15.00 per ayment shall be by chec or money order (NO CASH) payable to “Port Authority of Allegheny County.” o refunds of payment ill be made pon request id ocuments can be mailed upon receipt of payment in full hould the purchaser ish to ha e the id ocuments deli ered ia special deli ery such as UPS or ederal press the purchaser shall pro ide its appropriate account numbers for such special deli ery methods his ro ect may be funded in part by and sub ect to certain requirements of the ounty of llegheny and or the ommon ealth of ennsyl ania uthority in compliance ith 74 Pa.C.S. § 303 as may be amended require that certified i erse usinesses (“DBs”) ha e the ma imum opportunity to participate in the performance of contracts and subcontracts for this ro ect n this regard all idders shall ma e good faith efforts in accordance ith 74 Pa.C.S. § 303 to ensure that DBs ha e the ma imum opportunity to compete for and perform contracts idders shall also not discriminate on the basis of race color religion creed age disability national origin se ual origin gender identity or status as a parent in the a ard and performance of contracts for this ro ect f aid is required to in ol e s in the or idders are to contact uthority s irector of mployee elations and at he idder s attention is directed to the follo ing contacts for idder s questions: rocedural uestions egarding idding Cindy Denner – Authority cdenner@portauthority.org (412) 566-5117 ll other questions relating to the id ocuments must be submitted by mail or email to ort uthority of llegheny ounty ein enter i th enue hird loor ittsburgh ttn indy enner mail cdenner@portauthority.org n addition the idder s attention is directed to the follo ing schedule of activities for preparation of its Bid: 9:00 a.m.

January 20, 2021

1:30 p.m.

February 9, 2021

Pre-Bid Conference will be conducted via teleconference at: Toll free phone number: 1-855-453-6957 Conference ID #4485786 (Attendance is not mandatory, but strongly recommended) here ill be no re id ite our held for this project. egley tation is publicly accessible Bids Due urchasing and aterials anagement epartment ids submitted ia ed or other carrier are sub ect to the notification requirements indicated abo e Please call Cindy Denner at (412) 566-5117 prior to arriving at the Heinz 57 location all participants must provide and wear a mask at all times and practice minimum social distancing of 6 feet between other individuals. id pening ill be publicly conducted @ 2:00 pm via teleconference at: Toll free phone number: 1-855-453-6957 Conference ID #4485786

Authority reserves the right to reject any or all Bids

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ALLIES & ROSS MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) FOR Tax Credit Investor and/or Limited Partner and/or Construction Lender for the Northview Midrise ARMDC RFP #2021-33 he llies oss anagement and e elopment orporation (ARMDC) hereby request proposals from qualified irms or ndi iduals capable of pro iding the follo ing ser ice s Tax Credit Investor and/or Limited Partner and/or Construction Lender for the Northview Midrise he documents ill be a ailable no later than January 11, 2021 and signed sealed proposals ill be accepted until 9:30 A.M. on February 2, 2021. he ousing uthority of the ity of ittsburgh ill only be accepting physical proposals dropped off in person from 8:00 AM until the closing time of 9:30 AM on February 2, 2021 in the lobby of oss t ittsburgh roposals may uploaded to the ARMDC’s online submission site the lin is accessible via the HACP website and within the RFP ealed proposals may still be mailed ia USPS at hich time they ill be ime and ate tamped at oss treet nd loor uite ittsburgh arties or indi iduals interested in responding may do nload a copy of the olicitation from the usiness pportunities page of www.HACP.org. uestions or inquires should be directed to: Mr. Kim Detrick – Procurement Director/Chief Contracting Officer ousing uthority of the ity of ittsburgh rocurement epartment nd loor uite 100 Ross Street ittsburgh pre submission meeting ill be held ia oom meeting on January 21, 2021 at 10:00 A.M. Please see meeting information belo Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 989 4246 0289 Passcode: 257355 +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington D.C) he llies oss anagement and e elopment orporation strongly encourage certified minority business enterprises and omen business enterprises to respond to this solicitation.

ARMDC 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, President & CEO Allies & Ross Management and Development Corporation

ARMDC & HACP conduct business in accordance with all federal, state, and local civil rights laws, including but not limited to Title VII, the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act, The PA Human Relations Act, etc. and does not discriminate against any individuals protected by these statutes.

OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the dministration uilding ellefield ntrance obby outh ellefield enue ittsburgh a on February 2, 2021 until 2:00 P.M. local pre ailing time for Service & Maintenance Contracts at Various Schools, Facilities, Facilities & Properties: -Vertical Transportation Systems Preventative Maintenance and Service (REBID) Pgh. Colfax K-8 Flooring Replacement (Old Building) General Prime Various Schools: Pgh. Morrow PreK-4 and Pgh. King PreK-8 Replace PA Sound Systems Electrical Prime Pgh. Oliver Citywide Academy Oliver Bleacher Repair Project General Prime ro ect anual and ra ings ill be a ailable for purchase on Monday, January 11, 2021 at odern eproductions c ean treet ittsburgh a bet een 9:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. he cost of the ro ect anual ocuments is non refundable Project details and dates are described in each pro ect manual

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