10.26.22 NPC

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

Three of the top event weekends for African Americans in Pittsburgh this year—Juneteenth, the Black Music Festival and Soul Food Festival— generated $1.4 million for the small Black business es that lined the streets as vendors, according to an Oct. 25 report from Stop the Violence Pittsburgh (STVP). The organization is responsible for putting the three events together each year in Pittsburgh. It’s the first report of its kind from the organiza tion, which, according to its founder, William Mar

shall, should be applaud ed by city leaders, those in the non-profit and cor porate sector, and all resi dents of the city.

“With the majority of Black Pittsburghers living in poverty or from pay check-to-paycheck, with our festival events it is our goal, among other things, to create an economic im pact for Black Pittsbur ghers,” Marshall said in a release sent to the New Pittsburgh Courier, Oct. 25.

The Economic Impact Survey Report, as it’s called, gave the many ven

by Rob Taylor Jr.

Courier Staff Writer

The Dr. Edna B. McK enzie Branch, Association for the Study of African American Life and His tory (ASALH), located in Pittsburgh, and named after the pioneering jour

nalist who was the first female reporter at the Pittsburgh Courier, was selected as Branch of the Year for 2022, the New Pittsburgh Courier has learned.

ASALH was founded in 1915 by Dr. Carter G. Woodson to document the

contributions of African Americans to American history. ASALH has been implementing Dr. Wood son’s vision for more than a century. The Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch’s programming has been central to extending that vision.

On Oct. 1, at the 107th Annual Meeting Confer ence Awards Banquet held in Montgomery, Ala., ASALH’s highest honor was bestowed on the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch for “Outstanding Branch

Programming.”

“For the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch of Pitts burgh, to be honored by ASALH is most rewarding to each member and em braces the powerful en during legacy developed by Dr. Edna B. McKenzie for many years in Western Pa. and nationally,” echoed Ronald B. Saunders, the branch’s president.

Saunders said it was quite fitting that the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch would receive such an honor in the Branch’s

10th anniversary year.

“The Branch members are quite confident that Dr. Edna B. McKenzie is smiling down from Heav en at their Branch and is saying an exceptional job well done,” Saunders told the New Pittsburgh Cou rier. “The support among our membership, like a solid bedrock, has been and continues to be most encouraging and strong.

The Branch has members from around the United States of America who are engaged in continuing the

legacy of our founder and of Dr. Edna B. McKenzie.”

The Dr. Edna B. McKen zie Branch is an integral part of the tree built by Dr. Carter G. Woodson. The work performed in all the Branches of ASALH is to honor the legacy of Dr. Woodson by providing rich programs of substance and content to keep alive the important work of Dr. Carter G. Woodson and the mission of ASALH. Dr. James Stewart, pro

MARCIA MARTIN, WITH HIGHMARK HEALTH, AND B. MARSHALL, LEADER OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH’S JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION.

Crump files class action suit against U.S. government on behalf of Black farmers

by Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

America’s “Black Attor ney General,” Civil rights

Ben Crump on Wednesday, October 12, announced a class action

against the United States government on be half of the National Black Farmers Association.

lawsuit comes amid findings that Black farm ers lost about $326 billion of land in America because of discrimination during the 20th century.

During the announce ment of the suit on the National Mall in Washing ton, Crump and the farm ers claimed the federal government breached its contract with socially dis advantaged farmers un der the American Rescue Plan Act.

Farmers contend that the law included provi sions to pay off USDA loans held by 15,000 Af rican Americans, Native Americans, Alaskan Na tives, Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders, and His panics and Latinos in the farming industry.

In August, Congress re pealed section 1005 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which pro vided funding and autho rization for the federal government to pay up to 120 percent of direct and guaranteed loan outstand ing balances as of January 1, 2021, for socially dis advantaged farmers and ranchers, breaking the government’s promise and leaving farmers in foreclo sure.

Black farmers said they relied on the federal gov ernment to keep its prom ise to fund $5 billion to the farmers when it passed the American Rescue Plan Act.

“Black and other farmers of color did exactly what the government asked them to do. They main tained or expanded their operations to strength en America’s food supply during the COVID-19 cri sis,” Crump asserted.

“They believed the U.S. government’s promises. They took Congress and the Administration at their word, expecting that the government would pay off their debt, as the USDA promised in writing.

“Instead, it was 40 acres and a mule all over again, 150 years later—broken promises that doomed generations of Black farm ers to become sharecrop pers and robbed Black families of billions in in tergenerational wealth.”

With Crump at the helm,

Black farmers across the country said they’re pre pared to fight for the mon ey promised.

“I’m very disappointed in this legislative action,” said John Wesley Boyd, Jr., founder and presi dent of the National Black Farmer’s Association, a nonprofit representing Af rican American farmers and their families.

“I’m prepared to fight for debt relief for Black, Na tive American, and other farmers of color all the way to the Supreme Court. I’m not going to stop fight ing this.”

A 2019 report high lighted how many federal agencies have systemical ly discriminated against Black farmers, including the USDA.

“Through discriminatory loan denials and deliber ate delays in financial aid, the USDA systematical ly blocked Black farmers from accessing critical federal funds,” the report authors noted.

“If you are Black and you’re born south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and you tried to farm, you’ve been discriminated against,” Lloyd Wright, the director of the USDA Of fice of Civil Rights under Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and a Black Vir ginia farmer, said in the report.

The report noted that the debts Black farmers “con sequently accrued cost them millions of acres, which white buyers then snapped up.”

In 1920, Black farmers peaked at nearly 1 million, constituting 14 percent of all farmers. But between 1910 and 1997, they lost 90 percent of their prop erty. By contrast, White farmers lost only 2 percent in the same period.

As of 2017, there were just 35,470 Black-owned farms, representing 1.7 percent of all farms.

Black farmers lost some 16 million acres, conser vatively estimated to be worth between $250 bil lion and $350 billion in current dollars.

Lawrence Lucas, Pres ident Emeritus of the

USDA Coalition of Minori ty Employees and repre sentative of the Justice for Black Farmers Group, said USDA Secretary Thomas Vilsack had done nothing to help Black farmers.

“The amount of wealth loss could be in the tril lions of dollars,” Lucas remarked. “We’ve had ad ministration after admin istration, president after president, and Congress after Congress does noth ing. Secretary Vilsack was a disaster even when he worked under President Obama, who wasn’t good to us.”

In a letter to the agri culture secretary, Lucas expressed his disappoint ment.

“We have watched with disbelief and discour agement as a sequence of events played out in a self-fulfilling prophesy: a Vilsack agriculture tran sition team member de clared that what we want ed, debt relief for Black farmers, was unconstitu tional,” Lucas wrote.

“We contend that there was an unnecessary length of time spent on Senator Warnock’s two bills, voted into the American Res cue Plan Act of 2021, and the decision by a Florida judge to issue a temporary restraining order against you, which stopped relief for Black farmers.”

“We contend that you slow-walked the process ing of these claims with a process that went beyond 100 days. With the stroke of your pen, we are fully aware that you could have removed the debt these farmers have suffered be cause of USDA’s long his tory of discrimination, not a process but debt relief.

“Instead, we have White privilege that continues to be a part of the USDA landscape at the pain and suffering of Black farmers and others,” Lucas contin ued.

“[Former President Don ald] Trump paid out $16 billion in allotments to White farmers quickly, and Black farmers re ceived only a small frac tion of those funds. Why for them and not us?” he concluded.

This Week In Black History A Courier Staple

•OCTOBER 26

1749—The British parliament le galizes slavery in the American col ony, which would become known as Georgia.

1806—Benjamin Banneker dies at 74. He had become a recog nized inventor and scientist. He also completed the design and layout of Washington, D.C. after Pierre Charles L’Enfant returned to France.

1868—B.F. Randolph, a promi nent Black politician in South Caro lina after the Civil War, is assassinat ed. He was believed to have been killed by former Confederate sol diers seeking to re-establish White racist rule in the state via terrorist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan.

1872—Inventor T. Marshal pat ents the fire extinguisher.

1911—Famed gospel singer Ma halia Jackson is born (1911-1972) in New Orleans, La. She is generally considered to be the greatest gos pel singer who ever lived.

•OCTOBER 27

1891—Inventor P.B. Downing patents the street letter mailbox whose basic design remains in use today. Not much is known about Downing.

1960—President John F. Kenne dy intervenes to get Martin Luther King Jr. released from the Georgia State Prison in Reidsville where he had been imprisoned because of his civil rights activities. The Ken nedy action endeared him to Black voters.

1981—Former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young is elected mayor of Atlanta, Ga. be coming city’s second Black mayor.

•OCTOBER 28

1798—Levi Coffin (White) is born in the slave state of North Carolina but becomes a strong opponent of slavery. He and his wife Catherine are credited with being among the original founders of the “Under ground Railroad”—the system of transports and safe houses that en abled Blacks to escape slavery in the South to freedom in the North.

•OCTOBER 29

1929—The Stock Market collaps es ushering in the Great Depres sion bringing about Black unem ployment rates ranging from 25 to 40 percent. The effects of the Great Depression would last until the start of World War II which cre ated massive war industry jobs and a second mass migration of Blacks from the South to the industrial North.

1994—Famed dancer Pearl Pri mus dies. She blended African and Caribbean dance and music with Black American traditions of blues, jazz and the jitterbug to form a new vibrant dance form. She formed a dance troupe and she personally appeared in such early Broadway hits as “Showboat” and “Emperor Jones.” Primus was known for her amazingly high leaps. In 1991, the first President Bush awarded her the National Medal of Arts.

2009—A report is published sug gesting that the old self-hate mantra of “I am Black enough; I don’t need any sunshine” could be shortening the lives of African Americans. Dr. Jonathan Mansbach’s report found, among other things, that American Blacks are not getting enough sun shine or more specifically, vitamin D—the sunshine vitamin. Mans bach discovered, for example, that an astonishing 90 percent of Black children were vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D deficiency can contrib ute to various cancers, diabetes and weak bones.

•OCTOBER 30

1831—Minister and mystic Nat Turner, leader of the bloodiest slave revolt in U.S. history, is cap tured in South Hampton County, Va. The uprising took place Aug. 21 and 22 of the same year and left 55 Whites dead. Turner was hanged and then skinned on Nov. 11.

1954—The U.S. Department of

Defense announces the official end of all segregated military reg iments in the armed forces.

1966—The Black Panther Party is founded in California by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. The full name was the Black Panther Party for Self Defense. It was formed in major measure to bring attention to and combat brutality against Blacks by the Los Angeles Police Depart ment.

1974—Muhammad Ali defeats George Foreman for the heavy weight boxing title. The fight took place in Zaire (now the Congo) and was billed as the “Rumble in the Jungle.”

1991—BET Holdings, Inc. sells 4.2 million shares of stock in an initial public offering becoming the first Black company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Founder Bob Johnson has since sold the compa ny to the media giant Viacom.

2002—One of the original found ers of modern rap music Jam Mas ter Jay of the group Run-DMC was killed in a shooting at his New York recording studio. He was 37. His group, Run-DMC, was a major force attracting young Whites to rap mu sic.

•OCTOBER 31

1517—Revolutionary Christian leader Martin Luther posted his famed 95 Theses on the door of Wittenberg Palace in Germany set ting off the Protestant Reformation against the Catholic Church. It is believed the parents of American Civil Rights Movement icon Mar tin Luther King Jr. named him after Martin Luther. However, King’s orig inal name was “Michael” and was later changed to “Martin.”

1820—(circa) Irish Catholics bring Halloween to America where it first gains popularity among the lower classes and becomes heavily in fluenced by both American Indian and Black American (slave) super stitions.

1896 (or 1900)—Actress and sing er Ethel Waters is born in Chester, Pa. She became one of the nation’s best known jazz and gospel sing ers. Waters was born to a 12-yearold Black girl who had been raped by a White man.

•NOVEMBER 1

1604—William Shakespeare’s great play “Othello” was first per formed at Whitehall Palace in Lon don. It is the earliest known Europe an play with a Black lead character. 1866—America’s first Civil Rights Act is passed over the veto of Pres ident Andrew Johnson. In part, it was Johnson’s opposition to such pro-Black legislation that led a group called the “Radical Repub licans” to seek his impeachment. Johnson had become president after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and adopted a wide-range of anti-Black policies.

1910—Scholar and political activ ist W.E.B. DuBois published the first issue of the NAACP’s monthly mag azine “Crisis.” DuBois would later break with the NAACP charging that its approach to ending dis crimination against Black was too “gradualist.”

1945—The first issue of Ebony Magazine was published in Chica go by founder John H. Johnson. Johnson died in September 2005. The magazine and its sister publi cation, Jet, are now facing financial difficulties and may be purchased by a group of non-Blacks.

1991—Clarence Thomas takes his seat on the United States Supreme Court after a prolonged controver sy over his alleged sexual harass ment of former co-worker Anita Hill. Thomas would go on to disappoint much of Black America by render ing votes on major issues, which many leading African-American felt were anti-Black.

1999—Chicago Bears running back great Walter Payton dies of cancer at the age of 45. His power and grace on the football field led to his nickname “Sweetness.”

Northview Heights Calvin M. Hall

Zone 1 Cares initiative meant to build relationships between police and North Side residents

The City of Pittsburgh, in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Zone 1, Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP), The Buhl Foundation, and One Northside, invited residents to the relaunch and open house of the Northview Heights Cal vin M. Hall Public Safety Center on Friday, Oct. 21.

The Northview Heights (NVH) Public Safety Cen ter first launched in 2018 and served as a model for relationship-based policing. Designed to im prove community safe ty through a deliberate community-policing ap proach focused on proac

tive policing strategies and ongoing collabora tive problem-solving be tween the public and law enforcement, the multiuse public safety center space serves as both a Zone 1 police substation and a community hub. Zone 1 Police Com mander Shawn Malloy introduced his Zone 1 Cares initiative. Zone 1 Cares is an intentional effort to build relation ships between Zone 1 police and residents of the North Side. The ini tiative will begin in the communities of North view Heights and Allegh eny Dwellings this fall with plans for a full-scale

launch in spring 2023 across all 18 neighbor hoods of the North Side.

“Zone 1 Cares is a way for officers to meet res idents where they are. Officers will be visible within the community and working in partner ship with residents to improve safety, improve resident relations, and rebuild trust,” Zone 1 Commander Shawn Mal loy said, in a statement to the New Pittsburgh Courier. “We want res idents to see us, get to know us, and work with us. To ensure safe and welcoming communities where all residents can thrive it will take all of

us working together.”

The goal is to have all officers assigned to a des ignated North Side sector that encompasses three to four neighborhoods. Officers will attend their designated neighborhood community meetings and begin engaging res idents on foot walking their assigned commu nities distributing door hangers with safety re sources and a QR code connecting residents to the One Northside web site with safety alerts, community events with officers, and important safety resources. Zone 1 Cares is funded through One Northside, the Buhl

Foundation’s placedbased grant-making strategy to improve the quality of life for resi dents of the Northside.

“I am grateful to the Mayor’s Office, Pitts burgh Bureau of Police Zone 1, and the City of Pittsburgh Housing Au thority for coming to gether again to reopen the Public Safety Center and work to meet the needs of our Northview Heights neighbors,” said Buhl Foundation Pres ident Diana Bucco, in a statement. “We are excit ed to relaunch the Safety Center as the first step in re-engaging Northside residents following the COVID-19 pandemic.

safety center model is evidence that residents and police can partner for safer, more livable communities.

Efforts have been un derway in Northview Heights since November 2021 to re-engage resi dents, and onboard new officers following the safety center’s COVID shutdown in March 2020.

As a part of the relaunch, 13 NVH residents have volunteered to serve as building captains to help engage residents, share information and rebuild community-based pro gramming.

The Northview Heights

THE PUBLIC SAFETY CENTER IS NAMED FOR THE LATE PITTS BURGH POLICE OFFICER CALVIN HALL.

Public Safety Center reopens

(PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)

MICHELLE

New report examines the startling highs—and lows— of mental health treatment in America

by Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

The District of Colum bia counts among the top 10 states with the best mental health, or the combination of the lowest prevalence of mental ill ness and greater access to care, according to Mental Health America’s annual State of Mental Health in America report.

Wisconsin, Pennsylva nia, Massachusetts, Del aware, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, and Maryland round out the top 10.

The states at the lower end of the ranking have higher prevalence rates and less access to care.

Those states include: Kan sas, Indiana, Texas, Ore gon, Arizona, Idaho, and Nevada.

“This year, again, the evidence is clear regard ing the urgent crisis we face in American mental health,” Schroeder Strib ling, president and CEO of MHA said in a statement.

“From high numbers of our youth who are con templating suicide to an increase in substance use, to widespread difficulty in accessing the care they seek, Americans are expe riencing high rates of dis tress and frequent chal lenges in getting help,” Stribling noted.

Stribling pledged that Mental Health America has continued to work to address and reverse the numbers, including advo cating for improvements to policy and practice that reach people where they are—at the right time, with the right help.

“Everyone deserves ac cess to the care they need and the opportunity to live

a flourishing life of recov ery,” Stribling asserted.

MHA found that 55 per cent of the over 50 million Americans experiencing a mental illness received no treatment, with access and cost as the primary reasons.

Most of those who indi cated they could not ac cess needed mental health treatment reported that they could not afford care, MHA researchers found. This reason was followed by not knowing where to get services, thinking they could handle their mental health without treatment, not having time, or health insurance not paying

enough for mental health treatments.

Researchers added that eleven percent of adults with a mental illness are uninsured, and 1 in 10 youth with private insur ance do not have coverage for mental health treat ments.

“Our country has a known shortage of men tal health providers—one provider for every 350 in dividuals—and barriers such as lack of insurance or insurance not covering enough of the cost of men tal health care compound the lack of access for those needing help, with clear geographic and racial

disparities,” said Maddy Reinert, senior director of population health at MHA.

“We cannot expect men tal health to improve in the U.S. if individuals in need are unable to access the kinds of care that they want.”

In an effort for more mental health support, D.C. council member Rob ert White introduced the District’s Pathways to Be havioral Health Degrees Act of 2022, which would allow students to pursue a master’s degree in social work free of charge at the University of the District of Columbia.

White’s bill, which has

eight co-sponsors on the 13-member council, would allow eligible applicants with bachelor’s degrees to obtain scholarships that cover tuition and books. It also provides students with a monthly stipend to cover living expenses and transportation.

“When the pandem ic started, I heard from so many people who felt like they needed mental health professionals, and they couldn’t find it, and what we realized is that we have a pipeline prob lem,” White stated.

In releasing its annual report, MHA said it aims to provide a snapshot of mental health among

youth and adults for poli cy and program planning, analysis, and evaluation.

Further, officials want to track changes in the prevalence of mental health issues and access to mental health care, un derstand how changes in national data reflect the impact of legislation and policies, and increase di alogue with and improve outcomes for individuals and families with mental health needs.

“Everyone deserves ac cess to the care they need and the opportunity to live a flourishing life of re covery,” Stribling insisted.

Pittsburgh resident Trevin A. Jones traverses country as Howard University broadcaster

by Veonna King

For New Pittsburgh Courier

Trevin A. Jones knew since he was a child that he wanted to be on the radio.

Jones was born and raised in Lancaster, Pa. He graduated from J.P. McCaskey High School, in Lancaster, but the school had a limited radio station. Jones recalled only being on the air for one day as a guest DJ.

Jones’ love for radio stemmed from a child watching his father work long hours while going to school. When his fa ther would come home, he would play the radio to soothe him after a long day. This made Jones want to be heard by his father on the radio.

“One day when he comes home from work, he can hear his son’s voice to re lax from a long day,” Jones said, during an exclusive interview with the New Pittsburgh Courier, Oct. 14.

Still driven by his pas sion, he attended Norfolk State University where he started his career at the university-owned radio station WNSB-FM (91.1). After helping with com mercials and shadowing current DJs he got his first show called “Mellow Mad ness.” The show lasted two years and Jones played a

variety of music.

Graduating in 1986 with a degree in mass commu nication, he then became a part-time DJ for WTJZ-FM in Hampton, Va. During his one year there he would spin vinyl records, occa sionally make on-air ap pearances, and help with promotional events.

After just one year, Jones was let go from that posi tion. He would not return to radio for another nine years.

It was in 1995 that he in terned for the powerhouse WBLS-FM (107.5) in New York City. During this time, he helped produce commer cials and assist with show productions for radio per sonalities such as Wendy Williams and the late Doug Banks. His productions in cluded making sure their show ran on schedule, and recording and editing com mercials for other DJs. All while doing this for free for the first six months, Jones also worked for Bad Boy Entertainment at night.

During his time at Bad Boy, he was the assistant studio director for the “Daddy’s House” recording studio. He would ensure musical talents such as Lil’ Kim, Notorious B.I.G. and Faith Evans were greeted by a secretary and sched uled to the right studios. He also got to be featured

on Biggie’s “Life After Death” album via some in terludes.

In 2003, Jones left New York for Pittsburgh to be come a producer (and later a sports anchor) for Sheri dan Broadcasting Network. Throughout his time, he co-hosted and produced on the award-winning “Black College Football Weekly” radio show. During his time at Sheridan, he met the Director of Sports In formation for Howard Uni versity, Ed Hill.

Jones later reached out to Hill to let him know he was looking for another

job. In 2012, Jones became “The Voice of Howard Uni versity” as the play-by-play broadcaster for its foot ball and basketball teams, known as the Bison. Hill is now retired but described Jones as a “natural” and “rare talent.”

“He has a knack to make it fun and informational at the same time, and not everyone can do that,” Hill added.

Jones accredited all his past jobs in helping him with his broadcasting for Howard. “All of these po sitions helped me prepare and communicate effec tively for this job at How ard. All these jobs help me to be more articulate and able to project more,” Jones said.

Besides doing what he loves, Jones boasted about some rare moments in sports history he got to witness. In 2017, the Bison entered as 45-point road underdogs against the Uni versity of Las Vegas Rebels in an eventual 43-40 win for Howard in Las Vegas. The win is considered one of the greatest upsets in the history of college foot ball.

Jones is racking up the frequent flyer miles. Fol lowing each Howard foot ball game, he returns to Pittsburgh, where he re sides, and continues work as the producer and sports

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR CELL TOWER CONSULTANT RFP#250-27-22

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby request proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): CELL TOWER CONSULTANT RFP#250-27-22

The documents will be available no later than October 24, 2022 and signed, sealed proposals will be accepted until: 10:00 AM on November 15, 2022. 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 10:00 AM on November 15, 2022 in the lobby of 100 Ross St. Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Proposals may be 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.

copy of the Solicitation from the Business

of www.HACP.org.

Questions

of the City of Pittsburgh

15219

A

The

Director

of the City of

Questions or inquiries should be directed to:

Mr. James Harris Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Legal Department 100 Ross Street 2nd Floor, Suite 200 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-643-2915

A pre-submission meeting will be held via Zoom meeting; on November 3, 2022. Please see meeting information below:

Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 862 2403 7056 Passcode: 765825 +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 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

Authority of the City of Pittsburgh

director for urbanmediato day.com. As another game day comes, Jones is back on the road to Washing ton, D.C., to travel with the Bison to their next game. Howard’s next con tests are: Oct. 29 at Nor folk State; Nov. 5 at North Carolina Central; Nov. 12 vs. South Carolina State (senior day); and Nov. 19 at Morgan State. This past Saturday, Oct. 22, How ard defeated Delaware State University, 35-17, in the school’s homecoming game. Howard plays in the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Ath letic Conference).

Some of the advice Jones gives to people who may

want to become radio an nouncers are, “Determi nation, focus, enthusiasm, and studying whatever topic or sports team you are covering.”

Jones noted how import ant it is to study, specifical ly football; crucial details such as the team’s names, players, and knowing the background of the program that you are representing. The past games are just as important as the current. Jones also tells broadcast ers to have meetings with coaches, sometimes days before the game, to learn more about the program.

NATE HENRY, KENDALL LANIER, ALEX WILLIAMS, TREVIN A. JONES. JONES IS THE PLAY-BY-PLAY VOICE AT HOWARD.

TREVIN A. JONES

TIFFANY HOYD, TREVIN A. JONES AND MICHAEL LINDO, IN THE BOOTH.

rate informa tion, call 412-481-

“That

be no schism in the BODY; but that the

whether

should

- 1 Corinthians

REV. WALKER SAYS: ALL the parts of the BODY are needed,

$1.4 million generated for Black businesses during this summer’s Downtown festivals

dors a chance to provide ballpark financial figures on how much was made during the events, sub tracted by how much was spent during the events. No vendors provided their names on the surveys.

As an example, a busi ness that was listed as “jewelry and accessories” participated in all the days for the Soul Food Festival, held at Market Square, Sept. 2-4. The small Black business said it spent $500 to prepare for the festival, but took in $2,250 in revenue, for a profit of $1,750. The Soul Food Festival pro vided the Black business an “opportunity to engage new potential customers,” according to the unnamed business, only classified as Survey No. 5.

Another Black business, Survey No. 6 and listed as “clothing and food,” was a vendor for all three festivals, about a week and a half worth of total days. The business said it spent $3,000 on prepa ration for the events, but made $5,200 ($1,800 from Juneteenth, $400 from the Black Music Festival, $3,000 from the Soul Food Festival). That gave the business a profit of $2,200.

In the Black business classified as Survey No. 10, and listed as “hand made crafts,” the business spent $500 in prepara

tion but had a revenue of $1,800, for a $1,300 profit. This business was a vendor for two days of Juneteenth and two days of the Soul Food Festival. And the Black business said on the survey that “I made an additional $200 from selling items after the events.”

A Black business that will definitely be a ven dor next year at the STVP events is the business from Survey No. 35. List ed as a “food truck,” the Black business reported it spent $3,000 on all three events, but made a whop ping $8,000 from June teenth, $5,200 from the Black Music Festival and $9,000 from the Soul Food Festival. That Black busi ness took home a $19,200 profit.

While most of the Black vendors secured a prof it, there were a few that came out on the negative side.

As all three events have grown, there has been a concerted effort to give Black businesses a com prehensive learning expe rience as they participate in the events. There were a set of “Vendor Orienta tion Seminars” held for the small businesses who wanted to participate in the summer STVP events.

With the help of the Riv erside Center for Inno vation and Dollar Bank, about 70 small businesses received information on

how to apply to become a vendor, the cost of vend ing and preparation, how to apply for a Kiva no-in terest loan to purchase inventory, how to register a business with the state of Pennsylvania, and how to follow COVID protocols. These seminars were held on March 8 and 10, and April 10.

With the knowledge in the mind, it was time to make some money. Near ly 150 small businesses were participants at June teenth, the Black Music Festival and the Soul Food Festival. The report found that during the three-day Juneteenth Celebration (June 17-19, Point State Park, Market Square), the 12 craft vendors brought in an estimated total reve nue of $37,173. The 60 re tail vendors brought in an estimated $243,078. And the 32 food vendors took in an estimated $325,500, for an estimated total of $605,751 in revenue.

For the four-day Black Music Festival (July 1417, Point State Park), the five craft vendors brought in an estimated $9,150. The 37 retail vendors brought in an estimated $155,080. And the 26 food vendors took in an esti mated $187,100, for an es timated total of $351,330 in revenue.

And for the three-day Soul Food Festival (Sept. 2-4), the five craft ven dors took in an estimated

$24,500 in revenue. The 27 retail vendors brought in an estimated $115,985, and the 34 food vendors brought in an estimated $316,060, for an estimat ed total of $456,545 in revenue. The combined revenues from the three events totaled an estimated $1,413,626 in revenues for the vendors, the vast ma jority of whom were small Black businesses.

“VisitPITTSBURGH is a proud partner of Stop the

Violence Pittsburgh,” said a spokesperson from Vis itPITTSBURGH, to the Courier on Oct. 25. “It was our privilege to serve on the 2022 Western Penn sylvania Juneteenth Wel coming Committee and to witness the hard work put in by William Marshall and his team as they col laborate to bring visitors into our region and pro vide economic opportu nities for small business vendors.”

Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch named

Branch of the Year for

(Florida), was the driv ing and moving force in getting the Branch es tablished in Pittsburgh as a tribute to Dr. Edna B. McKenzie.

Happy 37th Birthday to Todd D. Hill!

Love, Ofelia Torres

“The Branch has con tinued to expand its vis ibility and impact, con cretely operationalizing Dr. McKenzie’s original vision for a Pittsburgh Branch,” Dr. Stewart said.

The Dr. Edna B. McK enzie Branch held a number of informa tional events this year and in 2021 that aid ed in their selection as Branch of the Year. The Branch was part of the Dr. Charles R. Drew Knowledge Bowl, which was held in Feb ruary with students from Howard Universi ty, Hampton Universi ty and Frostburg State University (Maryland).

Many called the Knowl edge Bowl a huge suc cess and the first-of-itskind for ASALH.

The local Branch held a “Malcolm X Week end Book Festival” in May, where a number of Black authors discussed their works around the theme of the Black fam ily.

Associate Professor Jerry Dickinson was a special guest for the local Branch as he dis cussed, “Pittsburgh is America’s Apartheid City.” He challenged

people to see how Pitts burgh is really not “America’s most livable city.”

The local Branch even held an event where Black men spoke about the importance of family support and mentorship in the public office, the effects on religion on public service, and the impact of social policies on the family structure.

“They have been doing some amazing program ming,” voiced Dr. Tara White, the 2022 chair of the ASALH Awards Committee and member of the ASALH Executive Council, in an exclu sive interview with the Courier, Oct. 25. “They were an excellent am bassador for ASALH in the Pittsburgh area, and they really are ex tending the vision of Dr. Carter G. Woodson’s vi sion in taking history to the community. Those were three of the rea sons they were chosen (as Branch of the Year).”

Dr. White said that Branches had to be nom inated by those from outside the Branch, and those who nominated Pittsburgh’s Dr. Edna B. McKenzie Branch “made very good cases” for why that Branch should take home the top award. The selection committee is comprised of primarily historians “with Ph.D.s,” Dr. White

said, so the selection of the Branch of the Year should not be taken lightly.

“Carter Woodson’s vi sion was that African Americans and the con tributions of African Americans be included in the annals of Amer ican history,” Dr. White told the Courier. “He really didn’t see a sepa ration. In his view, Afri can American history is American history, and so he founded ASALH as a way of helping the community see that Af rican American history is American history.”

Members of the Dr. Edna B. McKenzie ex ecutive board include: Ronald B. Saunders, President; Alexis Clip per, Secretary; Anita Russell, Vice President of Media Relations; Dr. Madalyn Turner-Dick erson, Vice President of Membership and Dona tions; Latara Jones, Vice President of Programs; Rev. B. De Niece Welch, Chaplain; Betty Pickett, Director of Youth Out reach; Alonna J. Carter Donaldson, Historian; Judith E. Saunders, Treasurer; Tamara M. Saunders, Zoom Admin istrator and Executive Producer; Gwendolyn Howze, Assistant Zoom Administrator.

fessor emeritus of Afri can American History

at Penn State Univer sity, former president of ASALH and the Mana sota Branch of ASALH

The Steelers have a quarterback who actually blames himself, not others

Yada, yada, yada, Bin go Long and the Trav eling All-Stars, and whatever additional nonsensical verbiage that anyone might wish to add...

By the way, if any of you “experts” feel the urgent need to regurgi tate some or any of the aforementioned gobble dygook, I have it from a non-credible source that the God of nick-knacks will pay all royalties for you so that there will be no forthcoming accusa tions of “plagiarism.”

Yes, the dreams of many folks have man ifested. The 2022 won-loss record of the Pittsburgh Steelers currently sits at 2 wins and 5 losses. With that being said, the nay sayers now think that they have been award ed a free pass to ignite the blowtorch that they have anxiously held in their grimy and sweaty hands for more than 15

years in anticipation of the day that they could stroll with heads held high into Steelers head coach Mike Tom lin’s personal bathroom at the crack of dusk to create a “volcanic-like” glow on his toilet seat.

Despite the few set backs that the Steel ers have experienced this year, there have not been any career- or life-threatening inju ries suffered by any of their players and on top of that, good news: the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west. Oh, and by the way, when the mighty Casey choked up in the clutch, the tears flowed heavily but the po’ folks in Mudville still had to get up in the morning, drink their cup of Joe, eat breakfast, show up for work and “get to crackin’.”

How many of us missed their following day at work because the Steel

ers were defeated and how many folks received a bonus when the Steel ers were victorious?

The Steelers’ defense is nearing the midpoint of the 2022 season. Con sidering the wretched injuries that they have been forced to deal with, including but not limit ed to arguably their two biggest defensive play makers, T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick, there are many reasons that they could have tanked and stunk the joint out. However, that is not the case because although they have been stumbling, they have kept on rumbling, you digg….. The good ole

boys have now got the blowtorches fired up, so ya better be careful where you go because the temp of the toilet seat may hold an unwel come and unpleasant surprise for a few “rump roasts.”

Let’s move away from the critique of the Black and Gold and attempt to accentuate the positive. When a young team is experiencing growing pains, one of the growth facilitators is an honest evaluation of your per sonal performance first, and then the analysis of your teammates.

If Steelers QB Kenny Pickett remains healthy, I am inclined to believe that he is going to be a great one. Why? Well, maybe to get better, an honest evaluation about your performance will help you evolve, not dis solve. When asked about his performance, part of his response was: “Ob viously turnovers, you

know, they can’t hap pen. That cost us the game. So, you know, I’m getting to work on it and then get ready for next week.”

That’s refreshing to hear from a young start ing QB because game af ter game and year after year the teammates of Ben Roethlisberger had to endure tire tracks across their backs as they were thrown under the bus because of the failures of Roethlisberg er. There was no shame to “Big” Ben’s blame game. There have been a few Steelers play ers that were forced to shoulder the unjusti fied blame and accept responsibility for plays that resulted in the team’s defeat because of the fat finger of fate pointed at them by none other than you know who. However, doing the previous four or five years a few select play ers opted to move on to

not necessarily greener pastures, but to calmer waters. There is a point when everything and everyone must evolve. The Holy Scriptures ex plains to us in Psalm 23:2 that: “He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.” Motown legends The Four Tops elaborate in a more modern vernac ular whispering in our ears that, “still waters run deep.” There can be victory and peace. Presently, there seems to be more of a sense of comfort behind the scenes replacing the al most perpetual state of drama during the most ly successful tenure of Ben Roethlisberger. The pain caused by Roeth lisberger has now been replaced by the growing pains of an entire foot ball team. Let’s all of us try to grin and bear it.

Have patience with Kenny Pickett... even the greats had bad first seasons!

:10— The record speaks for itself. The Steelers have earned their 2-5 record. If not for an in jury to the Bengals’ long-snapper, we could very realistically be looking at a 1-6 team. And perhaps the Steel ers’ braintrust knew this all along and were just waiting for the right time to start Kenny Pick ett and let the baptism by fire begin. Before we jump off a bridge, let us remember Terry Brad shaw’s first season, eight starts, a 3-5 record, a .38 completion percentage and 6 TDs to 25 inter ceptions. Peyton Man ning was 3-13 his first season with 28 intercep tions, Troy Aikman an astounding 0-11 with 18 interceptions. So, let’s not panic. Yes, this sea son seems to be swirl ing around the drain but you guys know I’m a positive cat and will look with a microscope to find something good. So here goes...

:09— The last two games the Steelers “D” has allowed a grand total of 34 points, usually good enough for 2 wins. Yeah, I saw the 4 dropped in terceptions, bringing to memory the indomitable play of #24, Ike Taylor. If

Ike could have caught a pass here and there he may have been All-Pro four or five times. But I digress. The collec tive defensive backfield, drops notwithstanding, kept Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill out of the end zone all day for Mi ami and pretty much neutralized their big catch-and-run ability. Once again the T.J. Wat t(less) effect was felt as the Steelers recorded no sacks and had only one QB hit but played well enough to not let Tua Tagovailoa run amuck and held them to one TD in the first half and shut them out in the second half. They weren’t per fect but they played well enough to notch a win.

:08— Kenny Pickett is going to be a big-time QB in the NFL, as is wideout George Pickens, who actually already is within the Steelers system. More on that in a bit.. Pat Freiermuth caught eight passes for 79 yards and will only improve if he can stay off of concussion pro tocol. Chase Claypool seems to have his head entirely in the game now and is once again be coming a surefire weap on. Finally we reach the O-Line. I know, I know, it seems like every week they shoot themselves in the foot with too many stupid penalties but I also see incremental improvement. This is a new line and it’s said a new line needs an entire season to gel. Pass block

ing has improved, run blocking seems to have improved despite Najee Harris’ still lingering foot problem. The Steel ers may end up 6-11, and no, I don’t believe they thought this season was going to play out as it has so far but they can, after the Eagles game on Oct. 30, see some daylight as the schedule eases up a bit; the NFL seemingly embracing mediocrity across the entire league.

:07— Pressley Harvin III punted six times in the game, at least three times after a three-andout series. Running on first down almost ex clusively is becoming a laughable play call at this point. Everyone knows it’s coming, from the opposing team to the fans to the waterboys and officiating crew. C’mon man, change it up, fire a pass over the middle of the field for more than eight yards. We have an emerging superstar in Pickens, let him fly down the field and make a 40-yard catch and run.

:06— Can someone, anyone, stand in the middle of the field 10 yards from scrimmage and somehow, in some way, not allow the oppos ing offense to run free and catch a pass with five plus yards of sepa ration from a linebacker or D-Back. I’m just say in’!!!

:05— Onwards and upwards. As the ac knowledged expert on all things hockey in this town, I have to say your 4-0-1 first place in the Metropolitan Divi sion Penguins look like world-beaters so far. Sidney Crosby, with 10 points already, is third

in scoring in the NHL and has the look of vin tage Sid “The Kid” from their first Cup run. If Sid stays healthy all season, watch out, the Pens will go far. And Tristan Jarry in goal has been nothing less than stellar. That’s it for now. Wait, were you expecting more? Really? Hmmm.

:04— The Philadelphia Phillies and, for the fourth time in the last six years, the Houston Astros, are set to duke it out in what’s shaping up to be an extremely entertaining World Se ries. Led by two-time MVP (and currently on fire) Bryce Harper, the Phillies have bucked the odds to make it to the World Series behind some hot hitting and timely starting pitching. That being said, the As tros almost seem as if they’re just too good to be beaten. Justin Ver lander is coming off a mind-boggling 18-4 and 1.75 ERA this season and could seemingly pitch three games in the World Series. Therefore the Phillies will take it in six games with out fielder Kyle Schwarber your MVP.

:03— Speaking of base ball, wasn’t it nice to see the Dodgers, Mets

and Yankees with their trillion dollar payrolls get eliminated from the playoffs? Can’t wait for our Pirates to land in the World Series any year now, now that we’re on a 5-year plan. Again. Wait, what?

:02— My L.A. Lakers have started 0-3 and things are looking really bleak. Could they pos sibly miss the playoffs again? Are they going to be worse than last sea son? Although just in the first blush of the season, I have to say they don’t seem to excel in any facet of the game right now. And can we get rid of Russell Westbrook al ready? That plan is was and is a failure.

:01— Go see “Black Adam” starring The Rock, Dwayne Johnson. If action is your bag, get ready, it heats up five minutes in and does not let up for a minute!!! And, oh yeah, “Black Adam” isn’t that kind of superhero. People get killed. A lot of people. Drop what you’re do ing, get in your car, get on the bus, and go see “Black Adam.” It’s that damn good.

:00—GAME OVER.

GEORGE PICKENS IS SHOWING ALL THE SIGNS OF A GREAT RECEIVER.

Zelle

by Allison Morrow and CNN Business

(The Atlanta Voice)— Zelle, the popular pay ment app, is under fire for how it handles (or rather, doesn’t handle) fraud and scams that have exploded on the platform in recent years.

together and created Zelle, which was lame and almost no one used it till around 2020, when digital payments took off in response to the pan demic.

• Zelle is now by far the largest peer-to-peer pay ment system in Ameri ca. Last year, according to Zelle, transactions

Inflation hammering Americans although an end may be in sight

The New York Times called Zelle out in two reports earlier this year. That grabbed the attention of US senators, who pressed the CEOs of the nation’s large banks that own the platform in hearings last month and began an investigation into the service.

Here’s the deal: On Monday, Senator Eliza beth Warren’s office said its investigation into Zelle showed that fraud and theft are not only rampant but getting worse. And once people report fraudulent trans actions, banks are re imbursing only a small fraction of the swindled customers.

“Big banks own and profit from Zelle but are failing to make their customers whole for both authorized and un authorized fraudulent activity on the platform, despite their claims that it is safe,” Warren’s office wrote.

Key things to know:

• Zelle (rhymes with “tell”) was created in 2017 as the banking in dustry’s answer to Ven mo and Cash App.

• The fintech com panies behind those apps were doing what big banks had failed to do for decades—make transferring money to your friend who just paid for dinner easy and free and fast.

• So the big banks got

totaled $490 billion, up 59 percent from the year before. (PayPal-owned Venmo, its closest rival, handled $230 billion.)

• The service is oper ated by Early Warning Systems, a fintech com pany owned by seven of the US’s largest banks.

Naturally, where the internet and money col lide is where scammers get to work.

Zelle’s size and acces sibility—it’s built right into participating banks’ apps—make it the “pre ferred tool of fraudsters and other bad actors,” according to the report from Warren’s office.

Among the investi gation’s key findings, which corroborate anec dotal evidence reported by the Times:

Banks are not repay ing 90 percent of cases in which customers were tricked into making pay ments on Zelle.

An estimated $440 million was lost by Zelle users through frauds and scams in 2021. But banks “appear not to have provided sufficient recourse to their cus tomers.”

“Authorized” vs “Un authorized:” Under a federal rule known as Regulation E, banks are technically only liable to cover fraudulent activity when it involves “unau thorized” transactions.

by Barrington M. Salmon

For New Pittsburgh Courier (NNPA)—Everywhere ordinary Americans turn, it seems, the spectre of inflation haunts their ev eryday lives. Everything costs more: Food. Shel ter. Gasoline. Eating out. Clothes. Vehicles. And a most goods and services.

Illustrating the perva sive nature of inflation, is that rents, the cost of new and used cars and even something seeming ly unconnected like den tal services have seen in creases. Meanwhile wages and salaries have scarcely kept up with red hot in flation. American families are paying what the Bu reau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and Moody’s Ana lytics estimates to be an additional $493 a month for food and other goods in June because of infla tion which jumped to 9.1 percent compared to 2021.

It’s the biggest 12-month hike in prices in 40 years.

PRICES GOING UP, UP, UP … Greer Marshall and Montina Vital told the NNPA they feel the effects of this crushing inflation every time they make a purchase, go to a restau rant, the corner store, su permarket or gas station.

“I am cutting back on some of my expenses and telling my children to find a job. Young people are used to buying sushi

up the street. That’s $20 per person per trip,” said Marshall, a documentary filmmaker and video jour nalist. “Grocery shopping is not looking the same as it used to be. When I go to the supermarket or grocery store, I can only afford to get the items I eat that day or the day after because I cannot fathom the price of some things. The price of grapes is ridiculous. It’s like $3 a pound!” Marshall, mother of two,

don’t. And I am charging for everything, even if it’s $20 because everything adds up.”

Market veteran and fi nancial journalist Dylan Ratigan said in a recent interview that Americans are being buffeted by ris ing prices and extremely volatile markets.

“Inflation is at its high est level since the 1970s.

Higher interest rates are affecting mortgages, cred it cards and double costs, especially in housing,”

that inflation was burning hot and still spiraling. The prior month, the CPI stood at 8.6 percent, then the highest rate in 40 years. But in recent days, there are signs that inflation is cooling with gas prices falling lower every day for the past two months, the Federal Reserve raising interest rates twice in the last two months and fears about a recession tem pered by strong jobs num bers, the gradual lowering of prices and skyrocket ing prices on the housing market also going lower.

- Dr. Linwood Tauheed

said she has become cre ative in finding ways to cope.

“I’m not going out to do entertainment things and I’m learning to live with less. I am more focused on what I absolutely need,” she said. “When I’m home, I turn off the heat. I got me a little heater that I plug in. I’m not driving the car as much because gasoline costs $5 a gallon. If I don’t have to travel, I

said Ratigan, co-host of ‘Truth and Skepticism.’ “Oil and energy costs for transportation and man ufacturing has doubled.

Large institutions, truck ing companies and air lines had budgets of fuel costs to fly, drive and run factories. Those numbers are wrong—a lot has hap pened fast.”

The Consumer Price In dex’s standing at 9.1 per cent in June was proof

According to the BLS, all items except the food and energy rose 6 percent over the past year.  Energy increased 34.6 percent over the last 12 months, the largest 12-month in crease since September 2005. And the food index jumped 10.1 percent for the 12-month ending in May, the first increase of 10.0 percent or more since March 1981. Food pric es rose 11.9 percent over the past year, and prices in sit-in restaurants and take-out increased 7.4 percent over last year which is also the largest 12-month change since the period ending Novem ber 1981. Gasoline prices increased 48.7 percent, electricity rose 12 percent, and natural gas increased 30.2 percent over the last 12 months, the largest such increase since the

Damon, what are your recommended steps for saving money when you have bad spending habits?

Signed – Facebook follower

Damon says: Saving money is the cornerstone of a sound financial founda tion. You build your financial house on hollow grounds if you build it without the essential habit of saving money be ing the base of your financial structure. In other words, a person with poor sav ing habits is financially unstable—re gardless of income. When the big bad wolf comes in the form of life, emergen cies, unexpected expenses, buying cars, vacations, college, buying a home, dis ability, retirement, and even death – it will huff and puff and blow your finan cial house down.

Now that we established why saving money is of paramount importance, let’s address your question. What are some best practice steps for “saving money” when you have “bad spending habits?” I’m reminded of a quote I often heard my mother say when money was tight—which was all the time—“I can’t save for spending.” Take a close look at your question. Take a close look at my mother’s quote. The answer lies therein. Houston, we’ve solved the problem. Fix your bad spending habits!

If we simply stop spending money we don’t have and make saving mon ey a priority, we’d essentially solve 95 percent of our financial shortcomings. Sounds simple. Why do only a few of us do it? It’s not entirely our fault that most Americans struggle to save money and make ends meet. In fact, 78 percent

of Americans are living paycheck to pay check. Paycheck to Paycheck? Dr. Lynn Richardson said people are living Pay check to Monday. Paid on Friday. Broke by Monday! Nearly 40 percent of Amer icans say that they don’t have enough money saved to make a $400 car repair. Student loans, not college savings, is the way most Americans pay for college.

Paying for school to get a job to pay for school is the mantra of most college graduates. Half of Americans within 15 years or less away from retirement, have less than $10,000 saved for retirement.

In the land of the free, the land of ample op portunity, most Amer icans will die broke.

Why? Because of an inability to consistently save money. I repeat, it’s not entirely our fault. This money-driven world is set up for us to fail. Let me explain:

Money doesn’t come with instruc tions: Financial literacy isn’t taught in high school or college. I’ve completed

Certified Financial Planning training.

I learned the concept of investing, tax law, estate planning, retirement plan ning, and other disciplines and theories. But I was never taught how to write a check, balance a checkbook, create a budget, the dangers of credit cards, or the importance of understanding com plicated financial documents before you sign them. We learn through trial and

error, paying stupid tax after stupid tax. We get most of our financial advice from people selling us financial prod ucts. Most of them don’t understand the products they sell. They understand the commission they’re making on the sale of the financial products. Stupid is as stupid does! Most of us are finan cially illiterate. Financial illiteracy is a high price to pay. The numbers don’t add up: You can only stretch a dollar so far. The cost of consumer goods and ser vices continues to increase tenfold. Meanwhile, pay raises increase anywhere from 2 to 5 percent annu ally then eventu ally cap. Even with promotions, most companies cap you at a 10 percent pay increase when promoted. On top of that, it’s widely suggested that we save 10 percent and tithe 10 percent. Once you factor in taxes and payroll deduc tions, it accounts for approximately 30 percent of your paycheck. That’s half your paycheck gone and you’ve yet to pay the mortgage, car note, utility bills, and feed and clothe the family. With housing, utilities and transportation costs taking up one full paycheck, you have one paycheck left to cover EVERY THING else. You know that I know it’s not enough! They’re out to get you: From the

moment you wake up until the moment you close your eyes, we’re inundated with millions of impressions of market ing messages via TV, radio, Internet, and print publications from thousands of companies. Telemarketers calling. Nonprofit companies calling. If you have kids, the new name for mommy and daddy is “Give me” and “Can I have.” It feels like you spend $150 or more every time you step outside. Every company and everybody has one goal in mind, to extract money from your pockets to theirs.

Sheesh!! How’s one to get ahead finan cially?

Become Financially Literate: Most of us were never taught sound money management principles. Educate your self. Read financial books and publica tions. Read my articles. Hire a fee-only financial planner. Someone whose job isn’t to sell you financial products but to teach you how to better manage money and help you make good financial deci sions. Give me a call.

Create Some Wiggle Room in your budget: In order to save and invest money - allowing it to grow without you nickeling and diming it all the time by withdrawing it, you have to have wiggle room between your income and expens es. Do the math. Add up your income and your expenses. Take a hard look at how you spend money. Do what is necessary to create wiggle room in your budget. It’s one of three things: increase

“We are in a period where we’re seeing inflation from an initial cause: recovery. The crisis (the pandemic) came on quickly and money was put into the economy. Supplies didn’t keep

Cash-back credit cards help curb inflation

(NewsUSA)—Whether

you are at the gas pump, the grocery store or even shopping online, the high er prices resulting from the current state of inflation are hitting everyone hard. For tunately, smart consumers can find ways to help reduce the inflation burden.

One easy way to curb infla tion is by getting cash back on your credit card purchas es. For the maximum in sav ings and flexibility, look for credit cards that offer the highest percentages of cash back along with other bene fits and opportunities to op timize your investments, as well as your purchases.

SoFi, a modern personal finance company, has cre ated a unique credit card designed to help you keep more money in your pock

et and reach your financial goals.      “SoFi is a one-stop shop for people’s financial needs. Our unique technology stack and broad suite of products enable us to build offerings that work better when you use them together,” says An thony Noto, CEO of SoFi.

It is easy to apply for a credit card online, but the ways the SoFi credit card helps consumers makes this one ideal for curbing infla tion.

– Save money simply.

The SoFi credit card does not charge an annual fee and lets you earn up to 3 percent cash back for a full year once you are approved. To qualify for the 3 percent cash back reward, users must set up direct deposit through the SoFi network.

Users can choose to send deposits directly to their high-yield checking or sav ings account. Also, there’s no need to worry about mini mum balance requirements in your accompanying SoFi account; there aren’t any.

– Enjoy extra benefits.

Users who make 12 consec utive on-time payments can lower their APR by 1 per cent. Other benefits include complimentary cell phone insurance coverage of up to $1,000, no foreign trans action fees when traveling overseas and Mastercard ID theft protection, which protects your personal infor mation by identifying and alerting you to potential fraud.

– Cash in on crypto. The SoFi credit card allows users to redeem their cash back

directly into cryptocurrency; the funds go into your SoFi active invest account. This option allows you to trade crypto, as well as stocks and ETFs.

– Pay down debt. SoFi credit card users earn two reward points for every dollar spent on eligible pur chases, but you choose how you use these rewards. De posit them as cash into your checking and savings ac count, as a fractional share in your investment account, as cryptocurrency or as pay ments towards SoFi person al or student loans.

Keep these smart strat egies in mind, and you can make the most of your mon ey and credit to help man age the challenges of infla tion.

Zelle fraud alert

Say, when someone steals your credit card and makes purchases without your permis sion. But if someone per suades you to send them $500 through a phishing scam, banks consider that “authorized” and won’t reimburse those funds.

BUT… The bank data reviewed by Warren’s office suggest even the bulk of unauthorized cases are going unpaid.

For example: PNC Bank indicated that its cus tomers reported 10,683 cases of unauthorized payments totaling over $10.6 million. It refund ed only 1,495 cases, to taling $1.46 million.

Zelle sought to down play the report and didn’t specifically ad dress Warren’s allega tions Monday. In a state ment, the company said: “Tens of millions of con sumers use Zelle with out incident, with more than 99.9 percent of pay ments completed with out any report of fraud or scam,” adding that the proportion of fraud and scams has steadi ly decreased as its user numbers have climbed.

The Bank Policy In stitute, a banking in dustry group, also disputed Warren’s find ings and claimed that Zelle’s rivals Venmo and CashApp receive more reports of disputed transactions.

“Zelle is the safest peerto-peer network,” it said in a statement Monday.

“For any real discussion of online fraud, the focus belongs elsewhere.”

BOTTOM LINE

Help! I can’t save for spending

FROM

income, reduce expens es, and/or do a better job managing your money.

Reduce or Stop wasteful spending: You’re paying high pric es for your vices! Did

you know, you can blow through $10,000 per year by spending $27.40 per day on miscellaneous spending. Yep, dining out, playing the lottery, alcohol, cigarettes, weed and other vices can add up quickly.

Make saving a pri ority: Financial guru Warren Buffett said do not save what is left af ter spending. Instead spend what is left after saving. You may have heard it expressed this way. Pay yourself first.

Money talking: “Save me today, I’ll save your tomorrow.” Saving money is how you build financial security and financial in dependence. In order to make saving money a pri ority, you have to develop a strong reason why you

want to save. If your life or the life of a loved one was dependent on you saving $15,000. You’d work ex tra, do without, and make various sacrifices to come up with the money to save your life or that of a loved one. Think of a strong rea

It’s kind of crazy to remember how anyone moved money among friends before the ad vent of payment apps. Did I actually carry cash with me? On the first ev ery month did I take my little checkbook out and literally write out my portion of the rent on a magic slip of paper and then just hand it to my roommates? Wild. It would not surprise me if the original idea for a payments app came from a restaurant serv er who was fed up with splitting bills unevenly across eight different cards.

But that’s the pre-in ternet world Regulation E was made for. It’s a 1978 rule that only got a 21st century electron ic payments update by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau late last year. It wasn’t made for the world of instant payments, and could hardly have envisioned how easy the internet would make it to swin dle people out of their money.

Warren’s report on Zelle could add pressure on regulators including the CFPB to update its guidance.

“Given this uncer tain landscape and the banks’ abdication of re sponsibility, regulatory clarity is needed to fur ther protect Zelle users,” researchers wrote in the report, noting that the CFPB has regulatory authority over peer-topeer platforms including Zelle.

(The post Zelle fraud is ris ing. And banks aren’t coming to the rescue appeared first on The Atlanta Voice.)

son that will motivate and encourage you to make saving money a priority.

(Damon Carr, Money Coach can be reached @ 412-2161013 or visit his website @ www.damonmoneycoach. com)

Inflation hammering Americans; end in sight?

period ending July 2008.

Inflation touched just about every aspect of America driving up rent, household fur nishings, airfares, mortgages, housing pric es According to a recent Gallup poll, about one in five Americans regard the high cost of living/inflation or fuel prices as the most important problem facing America today. Together, these two challenges account for more than 50 of the economic issues 35 percent of Americans point to as the na tion’s top problem. The unyielding price pressures have forced people like Ander son and Marshall to significantly change their spending habits and has increased fears from members of the public, some politicians and economists that America is looking at either an outright recession or a notable slowdown of economic growth.

HIGHER PRICES, SHORTAGES, IN FLATION = A TIGHT SQUEEZE

Dr. Linwood Tauheed said the United States could end up with “the worse possi ble of all worlds” as the US economy strug gles to recover from a devastating global pandemic, supply chain problems, absorb ing the effects of the Russia-Ukraine con flict and the widespread sanctions imposed against Russia for invading Ukraine.

“With the war in Ukraine and sanctions, stocks of gas, oil, fertilizer and other goods are decreasing. I don’t think inflation has happened yet,” said Tauheed, associate professor of Economics at the University of Missouri—Kansas City, and a member of the graduate faculty at the University of Missouri —Columbia. “We’re going to see increases. The impact from sanctions hasn’t really hit us yet. Prices of products are go ing up.”

Tauheed, said the United States has been on an economic roller-coaster during and since the emergence of COVID-19, buffeted by the economic disruption and downturn that caused and the ripple effects that the country is still experiencing.

“We are in a period where we’re seeing in flation from an initial cause: recovery. The crisis (the pandemic) came on quickly and

money was put into the economy. Supplies didn’t keep up,” Tauheed said. “People who were home because of COVID-19 saved money (because they took no vacation or and spent little in 2020). People had mon ey. There was a decrease in supplies while people had money to spent. That caused in flation to increase.”

At the same time, Tauheed added, the economy recovered to some degree “but supplies were not where they needed to be.”

“There’s inflation that you would expect from a quick recovery, but then you had the supply chain crisis,” he explained. “Coun tries, partic ularly China, were affected.

Facilities were shut down. It doesn’t neces sarily explain cargo ships at the docks, though. Inde pendent truck ers weren’t able to get business. Many went out of business, oth ers retired. So there were not enough trucks. The problem at the docks will be with us for a while.”

The issues of cargo ships piled up at some of America’s major ports has eased because of a series of actions taken by the Biden administration and similar moves by the trucking industry and port authori ties. There are hints that inflation may cool off in the coming months. As commodity prices fall, supply chain troubles exacer bated by COVID-19 are waning and swol len inventories hoarded by retailers have turned out to be an unexpected bargain for shoppers.

Vital, a certified financial education in structor, financial strategist, mother, wife, said the crazy rate of inflation caught her off-guard.

“Damn inflation. I don’t see that changing. It makes you rearrange your household,” she said. “I have always made things from scratch, and I find myself altering our diet

even more. When I buy lunch items for my kids, I’m watching the cost. I have changed and adapted. When I need to go out, I plan where I need to go.”

Vital said when she filled up her gas tank when gasoline stood at $5.00, it cost $55. Before, she said, filling the tank cost $12 less.

“Hell no, I ain going nowhere if I don’t need to. We’re on minimal movement,” she said with a wry chuckle. “My husband has to go to work every day. We don’t know how much the prices of food and gas are changing but we have to have money for both of these. I put all my bills on a payment plan— put wa ter, light and gas on a budget. That gives me more available money. That’s what I’ve had to do. You really have to know how much you have after bills.”

Vital said she also cut off au tomatic bill pay ments “because we have to have gas.”

“My husband travels 45 mins one-way to work from the house. He has to have a car, he has to get to work. Develop consistency with the known to keep a tab on the un known. I do more shopping at Goodwill. I have a growing son who is growing out of his clothes. I look for clearances too. I have a strategy, a plan between gas and food.”

Vital and a number of other interviewees said they believe that they are being kicked around by inflation because of factors other than market forces.

“I really believe that corporations are gouging consumers. Businesses are getting on the bandwagon to make up for COVID,” Vital said. “Reports are that a lot of people will be pushed into poverty and I absolutely believe it.

Economists note that both cost of gas and spiraling food costs have been affected pri marily because of the Russian invasion of

Ukraine earlier this year which has upend ed global supplies of wheat corn, oil, wheat, corn and a number of other commodities.

WAR, INFLATION AND COVID-19 HANGOVER

JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said in a recent letter to stockhold ers that he is deeply concerned about the formidable tremors triggered by the twin challenges of spiraling inflation and Rus sia-Ukraine conflict because they pose a significant threat to this country and the world’s economic recovery.

“The war in Ukraine and the sanctions on Russia, at a minimum, will slow the glob al economy—and it could easily get worse,” Dimon said.

Dimon also explained that said Covid-19— with stimulus money from the federal gov ernment, the necessity of rapidly raising in terest rates to combat inflation and the war in Ukraine present an unenviable collection of challenges.

“We are facing challenges at every turn: a pandemic, unprecedented government ac tions, a strong recovery after a sharp and deep global recession, a highly polarized U.S. election, mounting inflation, a war in Ukraine and dramatic economic sanctions against Russia,” he said. “While all this turmoil has serious ramifications on our company, its effect on the world—with the extreme suffering of the Ukrainian people and the potential restructuring of the global order—is far more important.”

And with the war in Europe upending, agricultural, energy and an assortment of commodity markets, it’s very likely that ad ditional sanctions could deepen the widen ing instability, he added.

Dimon said Americans should brace them selves for “potential negative outcomes.”

“Many more sanctions could be added —which could dramatically, and unpre dictably, increase their effect,” said Dimon. “Along with the unpredictability of war it self and the uncertainty surrounding global commodity supply chains, this makes for a potentially explosive situation.”

“The confluence of these factors may be unprecedented,” he concluded.

(Barrington M. Salmon is an NNPA Newswire Contributor)

INFLATION FROM

Editorial

Brittney Griner’s double jeopardy

Brittney Griner, the beleaguered basketball player who is facing nine years in a Russian prison camp for posses sion of marijuana is catching a LOT of flack from Amer icans, especially White Americans. Their comments on social media carry an incredible amount of vitriol. They are saying things such as, “I’m trying to conjure up a reason I should care. Nope, nothin.” “She will have am ple time to practice the national anthem.” “…and here I am hoping she rots in prison and never sets foot on American soil again.” “…like gangbusters, let her break rocks.”

More comments: “How’s that divisive, polarizing, Woke [sic] hatred working out for yah Brittney!” “… you don’t F*CK with other countries [sic] laws. hope she gets 9 more added on to her already 9 years.” “He” deserves it. Did “he” think “he” was so SPECIAL “he” could GET BY with it?” “She’s just a liar…see ya in 9 years…” “…if you care about that Unamerican b1+ch [sic], then head over to Russia too!!! You won’t be missed.” “… she shouldn’t have hated America when she had her freedom. She got exactly what she deserved.” “She will have ample time to practice the national anthem.”

Essentially, very many observers of Griner’s situation criticize her because they are accusing her of being unpatriotic. Apparently, she was blamed for not honor ing the national anthem. Interestingly, there is a stanza in the national anthem that speaks of the slaves in a disparaging manner, which has been pointed out to her critics. They choose to ignore that idea; however, and don’t connect the dots to the reluctance on the part of some Blacks to embrace the national anthem. Moreover, based on much of the criticism, it is very, very surprising how many White people don’t know their history OR are in complete denial of the part they have played in the oppression of Black people.

In addition to this, it has been revealed that there was a case similar to Griner’s not too long ago in Russia. A White woman, Audrey Lorber, was arrested in Russia for possession of much more marijuana than what was found on Brittney Griner. Her consequences were far dif ferent, however. She only served 3 months incarcerated in Russia and then was released!!! The critics who are pointing to how Brittney “got what she deserved” rarely respond when the Audrey Lorber situation is pointed out. The ones who have offered an excuse for the discrepan cy say that “maybe they kept some of the story from the public and we don’t know the whole story,” or “maybe she was much younger than Brittney and was granted leniency based on her age.” The bottom line; however, is that she did not suffer like Brittney, who has already served nine months incarcerated in Russia and faces nine more years. It is even reported that it might be in a Russian labor camp!

It’s clear that Britney Griner faces double jeopardy: she is caught up in a very serious and scary situation in Rus sia. She is also faced with hatred coming from her own American citizens. The biggest excuse given by White people is that she is anti-American, but closer scruti ny reveals that a lot of the opposition might be based on race and homophobia. It is also possible that some of the Black people who are not sympathetic about her plight are motivated by homophobia. The bottom line is that a Black American citizen, a female who is a top star in the WNBA, is being mistreated. There are even whisperings that she is being held as a bargaining chip in international politics; she has already been offered to be exchanged for a Russian criminal incarcerated in the USA.

According to Griner’s wife, Brittney is in very low spir its. Cherelle Griner says Brittney is at her “weakest mo ment.” She said Brittney told her in a phone call that she felt “like my life just doesn’t matter. Like, y’all don’t see the need to get me back home? Am I just nothing?”

She’s very afraid about being left and forgotten in Rus sia, or just completely used to the point of her detriment, according to her wife, Cherelle Griner.

Griner is set for a hearing to appeal her nine-year pris on sentence. Hopefully, she will be successful with her appeal. More importantly, Americans, and especially Black Americans, should send prayers and also advo cate to bring her home. She did break the law in Russia, but the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. Just look at the Audrey Lorber situation for comparison. A Luta Continua.

Editor’s note: A Russian court on Tuesday upheld the American basketball star Brittney Griner’s sentence on drug smuggling charges.

It’s in their nature

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—In this cam paign season, I am reminded of the fable of the scorpion and the frog.  For those unfamiliar, a scorpion asks a frog to carry him across a river on his back.  The frog fears being stung, but the scorpion argues that if it did so, both would sink and drown. The frog agrees, but midway the scorpion does indeed sting the frog, dooming them both.  Before they drowned, the frog laments the treachery and asks why.  The scorpion said, “You know who I am!  It’s just in my nature.”

One of Maya Angelou’s most famous quotes is, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”  As Republicans anxiously prepare to regain control of Con gress, voters of sound mind and good conscience should consider what a Re publican majority in even one of the two houses would mean.  From my vantage, I can only predict turmoil and misfortune.  Hopefully, better vot er judgment and choices will prevail.

For years, the Republican Party has shown that its primary concern is in the interests of the privileged, wealthy, big business, and, under any and every circumstance, the raw excess of retaining power and control.  Its acceptance and defense of the criminal excesses of the disgraced, twice-impeached ex-president is itself criminal, and disrupts the design of social equilibrium inherent in a system of democracy.  Moreover, those who support the criminality increas ingly accept its profitability and enhancements as perks to which they are also entitled.

Violating Constitutional emolument

Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq. Commentary

provisions, The Trump Organization grossly overcharged the govern ment for services provided to Secret Service protective details for Trump and members of his family.  Trump properties became a hub for foreign influence and resulted in a source of personal enrichment. Taking a cue from their leader, the current threat to our futures comes from the Republican Congress.  While claiming alarm at the rising inflation, Republicans are planning to extend the $1.5 Trillion Trump Tax Cut to the benefit of the 1 percent.  In order to offset the loss of this tax revenue, prominent Republican Senators are proposing to require reauthoriza tion of the Social Security System every five years.  Even more radically, Johnson of Wisconsin advocates an annual reauthorization.

Republicans have already promised to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act.  This would end the infrastruc ture construction/revitalization provisions of the act, as well as the provisions protecting consumers from the burdensome excesses of phar maceutical purchases.  This course of action would mean that caps on out-of-pocket expenses for medical treatment and $35 per month cap on Insulin would disappear.

The Republican success in the coming election not only poses a phys ical threat to the underserved and people of color, but it also threatens the psyche, self-esteem, and critical thinking skills of generations of our children.  We have already witnessed a revisionist white-washing of ethnic history in public schools to appease those made uncomfortable about the TRUTH of our nation’s history.  They would have you erase the truth of the historical brutality of human enslavement, the slaughter of Native Americans, the immigration exclusion of Asians, the generalized “Other ization” of people of color, and the continuing legacy of hatred spawned by these acts.  Like Nazi Germany, book-banning is becoming increas ingly popular, and humans of all ages are shamed and victimized for their gender orientation.

In the face of increasing violence, Republicans have pledged to protect unfettered access to guns.

They have stripped the right of women to make independent repro ductive health decisions.

Like the scorpion, Republicans have shown their true colors.  They have announced their intentions,—inten tions which can only have a malevo lent impact upon those they consider dispensable.  It’s in their nature!  Will intelligent voters choose to yield to the Republican “nature” or will they vote to protect our collective futures.

(Dr. E. Faye Williams, President of the Dick Gregory Society, United Nations Peace Am bassador; www.drefayewilliams.com; www. thedickgregorysociety.org)

Modeling the Spirit of Democracy

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—Some things are unthinkable—until they happen.

For Jamie Raskin, a congressman and father, the first unthinkable thing was the loss of his beloved son Tommy to suicide on New Year’s Eve 2020. As a father myself, my heart breaks when I imagine the grief experienced by Raskin and his family.

The second unthinkable thing happened less than a week later. Enraged supporters of the defeated President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol and hunted for members of Congress to prevent them from affirming the results of the presiden tial election.

Raskin was at the Capitol that day— the day after his son was buried—to do his duty. And that meant he and the family members who were there to support him had to live through the terror of the attack and evacuation.

After all that, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked Raskin to lead an effort to impeach Trump for his role in the insurrection. Raskin said yes. He did a brilliant job. It was a remarkable show of strength and resilience. The House did vote to impeach Trump for a second time, though most Senate Republicans refused to convict him.

Raskin wrote a book about that 45-day period between the loss of his son and the impeachment of Trump.

“Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and

Ben Jealous Commentary

the Trials of American Democracy,” is powerful and surprisingly hopeful.

I recently had a chance to talk with Raskin when he spoke with People For the American Way’s new online book club. I asked him about the grounds for his hope. How, given the rising threats to freedom and democ racy, does he continue to consider himself a “constitutional optimist?”

What makes the U.S. exceptional is not that we are somehow immune to the erosion of democracy, he said. What makes us exceptional is the progress we have made together. We can take hope and strength from our own history, and the example of coura geous people around the world.

“We are not the first generation to face authoritarianism.”

He reminded all of us that the spirit of freedom and democracy lives in people’s hearts even in the face of repression and attempts to snuff it out—and efforts by far-right strate gists to smother it.

Raskin has modeled that spirit of

democracy as a member of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection and all that led up to it. In the face of every effort by Trump and his allies to stall, stone wall, and shut down the investigation, Raskin and his colleagues refused to back down. They have dug out evi dence and presented it to the Ameri can people.

Without the committee’s investiga tions, we would know far less about the effort by Trump and his hench men to overturn the election. Without the committee’s truth-telling, there would be no hope for holding them accountable.

The threat to democracy is real. Con spiracy theories are helping drive a right-wing turn away from democratic values and toward repressive authori tarian rule.

At this moment, Americans face a choice: do we go back to the worst of the past, to voter suppression and political violence fueled by racism? Or do we move forward, building on the progress we have made in becoming a multiracial, multiethnic, multireli gious democratic society?

It’s up to us. As Jamie Raskin reminded us, “Democracy is always unfinished.”

(Ben Jealous serves as president of People For the American Way and Professor of the Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.)

Trump rips off taxpayers

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—“The exorbitant rates charged to the Secret Service and agents’ frequent stays at Trump-owned properties raise significant concerns about the former President’s self-dealing and may have resulted in a taxpayer-fund ed windfall for former President Trump’s struggling businesses.”

House Oversight Committee Chair woman Rep. Carolyn B.  Maloney.

It’s not clear whether the opportu nity to funnel taxpayer funds into his private business was Donald Trump’s primary motivation for seeking the presidency. What is crystal clear, however, is that he took every opportunity to do just that— and lied about it along the way.

The House Oversight Committee this week revealed that the Trump Organization charged the Secret Service up to $1,185 per night for hotel rooms used by agents protect ing Trump family members. That’s five times the government rate and nearly 24 times the $50-a-night rate the Trump Org claimed to be charging.

Marc H. Morial To Be Equal

lions.

A Washington Post investigation found that Trump’s company raked in at least $2.5 million in taxpayer money and $5.6 million in campaign funds during his presidency, -- an incomplete accounting, as several federal agencies refused to turn over records to the Post. The Trumps’ illicit taxpayer-funded windfall included exorbitant overcharges like $2,600 per night for a house at Mara-Lago,  $50 per palm for decorative palm trees, $7,700 for a catered din ner for 30—more than $250 a plate —and more than $1,000 in liquor for a White House staff meeting.

Rod Doss Editor & Publisher

Stephan A. Broadus Assistant to the Publisher

Palm

Manager

Ashley Johnson Sales Director Rob Taylor Jr. Managing Editor

H. Sengstacke

Trump visited his own properties more than 500 times during his presidency, and the Trump Orga nization has continued to bill the Secret Service since he left office and began living in his properties full-time.

The records released by the Over sight Committee, which cover more than $1.4 million in self-dealing, are merely the tip of Trump’s iceberg of graft.  The cost to the taxpayer of tax dodges, deceit, and self-dealing by Trump’s family and companies reaches into the hundreds of mil

Eric Trump, Executive Vice Pres ident of the Trump Organization, falsely claimed the business was required by law to charge the federal government, and that government employees were charged only “like 50 bucks” per night for hotel rooms.

But Trump’s fleecing of the Ameri can taxpayer did not begin with his presidency.  According to The New York Times: “He and his siblings set up a sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts from their par ents, records, and interviews show. Records indicate that Mr. Trump

helped his father take improper tax deductions worth millions more. He also helped formulate a strategy to undervalue his parents’ real estate holdings by hundreds of millions of dollars on tax returns, sharply reducing the tax bill when those properties were transferred to him and his siblings.”

Ironically, the fortune Trump inherited—and largely squandered —was built on taxpayer-funded subsidies and loans of the very kind he sought to eliminate as president. Shortly after President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Federal Housing Administration in 1934, Trump’s father, Fred Trump, used FHA loans to build apartment build ings.  During World War II, he built more than 1,000 apartments for the Navy at taxpayer expense.  Af ter the war, he sold apartments to returning veterans, funded by the G.I. Bill.  The elder Trump’s taxpay er-bolstered wealth backed the ma jor real-estate project that launched Donald Trump’s own career.

As president, Trump proposed the largest retrenchment of federal housing aid since the U.S. Housing Act was enacted in 1937.

Trump has not been accused of breaking any laws with the brazen bilking of the taxpayers revealed this week.  But presidents – even ex-presidents—should be held to a higher standard than “technically legal” and the House Oversight Committee’s work should result in safeguards to prevent future presi dents from abusing the power of the office for personal gain.

(Reprinted from the Chicago Crusader)

Joe Biden’s great recovery

(NNPA)—One definition of recovery is, “a return to a normal state of health, mind, or strength.” Another is, “the action or process of regaining possession or control of something stolen or lost.” I can’t think of any more ap propriate descriptions of the first 20 months of President Joe Biden’s Administration. History records President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as the creator of the New Deal, President Har ry S. Truman as the initiator of the Fair Deal, and President Lyndon Johnson as the master mind of the Great Society. I believe historians will one day recognize President Joseph R. Biden as the engineer of the Great Recovery. When President Biden took office on Janu ary 20, 2021, the country was in the grip of a global pandemic that was killing more than 3,000 people per day. Businesses were shut tering, schools were closing, and the nation’s unemployment rate was 6.4 percent. The American people were losing faith in their government and its elected officials.

The bombastic style of the previous Admin istration was wearing thin on the American public and their lack of substance was visiting hardships on the American people, their fami lies, and their communities. Our nation’s long pursuit of “a more perfect Union” seemed to be coming to an unceremonious end. In short, our Democracy was at peril.

President Biden and Congressional Demo crats are engineering a Great Recovery of, for and by the American People. From day one, we have focused on shoring up the shaky founda tion left by the previous Administration. On March 11, 2021, less than two months after he took office, President Biden signed the Amer ican Rescue Plan (ARP) putting in place the first pillar of the foundation upon which he would jumpstart a great recovery. The ARP put money in people’s pockets, got children back in school and lifted nearly half of those children living in poverty out of poverty. We reopened businesses, kept workers on their jobs, and stemmed the deadly rampage of COVID-19 by expanding testing and access to vaccines.

The second pillar of Biden’s foundation came on November 15, 2021, when he signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Joe Biden’s historic investment in our crumbling and outdated infrastructure, is putting peo ple to work repairing roads and bridges, ex panding high-speed broadband, cleaning our drinking water, and creating a resilient elec tric grid. It is replacing lead pipes, making a down payment on clean energy transmission,

Rep. James Clyburn

and erecting charging stations for electric ve hicles. These infrastructure investments are creating jobs and strengthening critical links in our supply chain.

The third pillar of President Biden’s “Great Recovery” platform, the CHIPS and Science Act, was signed into law on August 9. It re stores America’s standing as a global science and technology leader by providing the re sources and tools to make more products like semiconductor chips here at home. It will cre ate better-paying jobs, build a more diverse workforce, and bolster our supply chains.

The fourth pillar of the Biden platform, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed the Congress with every Democrat voting for it, and every Republican voting against it. This new law is making historical investments in climate change and health care. Medicare recipients will see insulin capped at $35 per month, their out-of-pocket prescription drugs capped at $2,000 annually, allows Medicare costs to be negotiated, and extends Affordable Care Act subsidies to 13 million Americans.

To further secure and stabilize his platform, President Biden and Democrats construct ed some additional, well-placed pillars, the PACT Act, the Safer Communities Act, and student loan debt relief. The PACT Act ex pands healthcare for veterans exposed to toxic burn pits and Agent Orange. The Safer Com munities Act is the first significant gun safe ty law enacted in 30 years. It invests in com munity-based violence prevention initiatives, closes the “boyfriend loophole,” creates a new criminal offense for straw purchases and traf ficking, and requires enhanced background checks for gun purchasers under the age of 21.

President Biden recently announced up to $10,000 in student loan debt relief for those earning less than $125,000 and reduced fu ture monthly payments for borrowers from 10 percent to 5 percent of their discretionary income. He also announced up to $20,000 in debt relief for PELL grant recipients. In ad dition, the Biden Administration reworked the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program for public servants who are eligible and those who were among the 99 percent of loan ap plicants who were denied forgiveness under the previous administration. He extended the deadline for applicants to October 31, 2022. In the last 10 months, over 175,000 borrowers have received over $10 billion in debt relief.

President Biden and Democrats are putting people above politics. Throughout my travels, I proudly proclaim that thanks to President Biden, and a Democratic Congress, America is emerging from a very dark time in our his tory. President Biden is providing the strong, steady leadership needed to build a solid foun dation upon which to launch a Great Recovery.

(Congressman James E. Clyburn is House Majority Whip.)

What gives criminals power?

In 2015, there was a shooting that left 11 injured and 1 person dead on a Saturday afternoon in Detroit. Detroit’s Police Chief James Craig begged the Black community to help the police catch the shooters. Chief Craig said he understood the fear of reprisal, but demanded to know if we were going to let these “urban terrorists” take over our neighborhood.

The president of the Michigan Chap ter of the National Action Network chastised Chief Craig for calling the shooters “urban terrorists”. He insisted that these young people didn’t know any better. He also said these young people were “products of poverty” and “bad education policies”, with no other options.

Detroit’s homicide rate didn’t drop the next year, but there was a small decrease in violent crime. Chief Craig attributed the progress to improved police-resident relationships. One De troit resident said the more people get involved, the safer we all will be. What gives criminals power is when people don’t speak out.

That raises a serious question.

When the local National Action Net work and other activist groups defend ed the youth by blaming the youth’s transgressions on “the system”, did the activist groups deter more Detroit residents from reporting violent crimes than Chief Craig was able to encour age?

If the answer is yes, then that type of rhetoric empowers criminals and should no longer be taken seriously in public discourse.

In 2018, there were 60 people shot and 9 died over one weekend in Chica go.

During a press conference, Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel was asked why the police force was failing at public safety. Mayor Emanuel ignored

J. Pharoah Doss Check It Out

the question to focus on a problem he admitted was “politically incorrect” to address.

He said the community has to do better developing and nurturing char acter, self-respect, a value system and a moral compass that allows kids to know right from wrong.

Mayor Emanuel was accused of insen sitivity.

The CEO of the Chicago Urban League retorted, “I cannot see the victims of racist policies and bigoted practices shamed by anyone who says they need to do better or be better in their circumstances.”

The community had no interest in this conversation. There was no de crease in violent crime in Chicago, but there was an increased effort to get rid of the mayor.

At the mid-point of 2019, there were 143 homicides in Baltimore.  Baltimore was on pace to surpass the 309 homicides of the previous year. At a press conference to address the violence, Baltimore’s Mayor Jack Young asked why isn’t this happening in other neighborhoods? “It’s just happening in the African American neighborhoods. The African American neighborhoods need to stand up and say ‘enough is enough’ and start turning these folks in.”

Mayor Young stressed that the police and prosecutors have long complained about a “no snitching” culture that pre vents witnesses from coming forward

and makes it difficult to solve murders.

By November, Baltimore reached 300 homicides.

Mayor Young’s plea for communi ty assistance was ignored, but the community accused the mayor of not providing the proper leadership to curb the violence.

During the start of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, seven people were shot at a park on a Tuesday in Baltimore. This time, Mayor Young didn’t ask the community for help. His plea went directly to the criminal element. He told them to stop shooting each other because the hospitals need ed the beds for COVID-19 patients, not victims of senseless shootings.

This time, the right-wing accused Mayor Young of making a pathetic attempt to appeal to the civic nature of gangbangers, which proved cities ran by Democrats were dysfunctional.

In 2022, a fight in Pittsburgh led to 20 gunshots being fired.

Two mothers were killed by stray bullets while they waited for the bus.

Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor, Ed Gainey, joined the long list of American city officials pleading with Black com munities to help police departments stop the violence.

Mayor Gainey said, “There’s no reason that anyone should want those types of killers on the street. We want to get them off the street as soon as possible because anybody who would not take any value in a life is not someone that needs to be on our streets. We know that somebody knows something.”

It’s too early to tell if Mayor Gainey’s plea will lead to a small decrease in vio lent crime like in Detroit, but if his plea falls on deaf ears like in Chicago and Baltimore, at least Mayor Gainey will know he has to confront the criminal empowering culture of silence before progress can be made.

Jump in the Pittsburgh redistricting power struggle

Wake up Black Pittsburgh! The bitter Los Angeles city council redistricting conflict is a wakeup call. Redistricting is a struggle for political power. That is the bottom line.

A few weeks ago, incumbent 24th district state representative Martell Covington addressed this extremely important issue during an AARP com munity meeting at Saint James AME Church in East Liberty.

CommentaryWhat do we know? And what do we need to know about how redistricting has affected Black political power in Pittsburgh?

Keep in mind this power struggle also rages inside the Black communi ty. Some ten years ago, the city school board districts were being realigned. Black political power was on the line. And a Pittsburgh Black elected official asked, in public and on the record, for the redistricting commission to reduce the PPS majority-Black school board districts by 33 percent, from three down to two majority-Black districts, that is to reduce the potential of Black political power. This was adamantly opposed by Black folks at large.

The commission rejected this Black elected official’s proposal. Now some ten years later, we find the PPS currently has six Black directors on a nine-member board.

Back in the late 1980s, the district lines were being drawn to replace the outdated at-large (city-wide) city council election system with by-dis trict city council elections. Then US judge Donald Ziegler allotted the com munity organizations calling for three majority-Black city council districts two public hearings in his chambers to mobilize their supporters and make their case. The organizations could not mobilize their supporters for either hearing. The Black community must stay on the case.

Fred Logan Commentary

Also, back then, the United Black Democratic Ward Chairmen of Pitts burgh supported the old outdated sta tus quo at-large election system which favored the local political establish ment. In a concurrent fierce internal battle, the Pittsburgh NAACP mem bership voted for by-district council elections and there by overturned an earlier vote of the NAACP board — reportedly etched in stone—that had endorsed the outdated at large city council system

Let’s get back to now. “A luta conti nua!” The struggle continues! What are the bounty lines for the local federal and state legislative districts that were enacted last year in 2022? Have you ever seen, any time, a large clearly detailed map of any of these changes?

At the recent AARP meeting, state representative Covington pointed out that in the new realigned local state house districts, Homewood, that is 13th Ward, residents who live on the north side of Frankstown Avenue now live in a different Pennsylvania state house district than their neigh borhoods directly across the street on the south side of Frankstown. How did this affect the political power of the Black enclave in the east end of Pittsburgh?

How did the 2022 redistricting affect the impact of Black political power in Wilkinsburg? Wilkinsburg is no longer in the 24th state house district.

What do Pittsburgh’s Black elected officials think of the 20022 redistrict ing? Will they take an active role in in the current redistricting of city, and county legislative districts?

Bottom line: The Black community should demand that redistricting com mission hearings be held at locations in predominately African American enclaves

In what’s left of 2022, the Pittsburgh Black community must organize its own redistricting meetings—plural— in predominately African American districts and continue next year.

In 2023, Pittsburgh’s District Nine city council seat and District One school board seat are up for election. What will these districts look like? What input will you have in the pro cess?

Jump in. Attend and monitor other meetings. Closely monitor the redis tricting commission’s proceedings. Ask the Allegheny County Election Department for very large hard copy maps on the current local legislative districts.

Go online, research the population data in the districts. Tell your family members, and associates. Take the struggle to religious institutions, civic organizations, fraternities, sororities, and social clubs across Pittsburgh’s Black community.

In less than three years, the 1965 Voting Rights Act will be sixty years old. “The Black Vote,” is a central weapon of Black political struggle. Right this very moment all across the United States Black political power is under attack by the rabid, reaction ary US Right. Political redistricting plays a key role, a central role in this vitriolic national struggle. Jump in the Pittsburgh redistricting power struggle and win.

Poll workers, voter registration and ‘US’

It appears the closer we get to the November 8th Election, the greater the challenges. While many of us have been focusing on voter suppression and the many efforts around the country to stop or frustrate the Black and Brown votes in particular and the votes of anyone who does not agree with the MAGA (Make America Great Again) attack on democ racy as we know it, we seem to have overlooked, in some quarters, the issue of having enough people of color as Poll Workers for election day.

Early feedback from some of the training sessions for those hired to work the polls suggest few African Americans are signing up for the job, even though it pays. This is particularly disturbing since a number of older and experienced work ers have been frightened away from the job because of the many threats on them and their families by the election deniers of the Biden Presidential Election.

If not too late, where possible, we need to encourage young people to apply for

John E. Warren Commentary

and take these jobs for the November election. It appears that whatever re cruitment being done is in such a general manner that if one was not already aware or thinking about the Poll Worker jobs, they would just miss the opportunity. This is another example of how we must think and sleep at attention at all times because the challenges are so great to our very freedom and existence.

Once again, in the next three weeks, the future of America as we know it will be decided at the ballot box and not in the halls of Congress where such decisions should be made. Now is the time to be in touch with our local Registrar of Voters

with questions about how many election poll workers they have and how many are actually needed. This we must do in addition to ensuring that those around us who can vote, do vote.

Consider these issues: If you are a vic tim of high rent increases with local elect ed officials who talk about homelessness but ignore doing anything about rent controls, you should be a registered voter and should be voting right now, either by mail or in person. If you are concerned about healthcare and more funding for pandemic and COVID-related costs, you need to be able to vote for those in office that will support the funding you need. You can add to this list.

You are connected to the issue of Poll Workers and the ability to vote and make change. Lets not let this opportunity pass because we didn’t think our “Votes Matter”.

John E. Warren is Publisher of the San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper)

THE PREVENTABLE STUDY

The University of Pittsburgh is studying if taking a statin might help to prevent dementia, disability, & heart disease. Who may qualify:

• Age 75 or older.

• NOT taking a statin.

• No history of heart disease or dementia.

Compensation provided. All study visits can be completed from your home. If interested, call 412-841-1415 or email PATHCDRN@pitt.edu.

The University of Pittsburgh’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, Department of Economics seeks an Assistant Professor of Economics to teach/instruct graduate and undergraduate courses in Economics.

Apply at https://www.join.pitt.edu , #22007958. Please upload a cover letter, statement of teaching and research interests, curriculum vi tae, writing sample, at least three letters of recommendation (emailed to Wynn Maloney wynn2@pitt.edu), and teaching evaluations. The University of Pittsburgh is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer and values equality of opportunity, human dignity and diversity.

EOE, including disability/vets.

SOUTH FAYETTE TWP. SCHOOL DISTRICT is seeking a HIGH SCHOOL MATH SUBSTITUTE TEACHER

Deadline 4:00 PM, November 4, 2022

The position is available January 10, 2023

Complete job description and directions on how to apply are available at: www.southfayette.org

SOUTH FAYETTE TWP. SCHOOL DISTRICT Has MULTIPLE FOOD SERVICE POSITIONS available

Complete job descriptions and directions on how to apply are available at: www.southfayette.org

Applications must be received by 4:00 PM November 2, 2022 or until positions are filled

DATA SCIENCE, PLATFORM Duolingo, Inc. has multiple openings for Data Science, Platform in Pittsburgh, PA to perform following duties: Collaborate on product & business problems w/cross-functional partners across Product, Engineering, Research, & Design; Analyze real-world user data to propose novel solutions to user challenges; Design & build pipelines to collect reliable & unbiased data for experimentation, analysis, & reporting; Identify & measure success of company initiatives through goal setting, forecasting, & monitoring key product metrics to understand trends; Develop & automate reports, iteratively build & prototype dashboards to provide insights at scale, solving for business priorities; Use data & insights to test product hypotheses; Iteratively build & prototype dashboards, predictive models, &/or algorithms to provide insights at scale that are easily consumable across diverse stakeholders. Reqs: Bachelor’s degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Machine Learning or related field. Must have knowledge of: (1) Programming Languages including: SQL, Python, HTML/CSS and R; (2) Databases; (3) Statistics; (4) Probability; (5) Hypothesis Testing; (6) Machine Learning; (7) Processing large datasets; and (8) Data Wrangling. Email resume to: jobs@duolingo. com with Job No. DSPlatform2022 and title “Data Science, Platform” in subject line.

PSYCHOMETRICIANS, VALIDITY & OUTREACH

Duolingo, Inc. seeks multiple Psychometricians, Validity & Outreach (Pittsburgh, PA) to analyze & interpret statistical data to develop & enhance Duolingo’s proprietary language testing technology.

Requires a Master’s in Applied Linguistics; Psychometrics; Measurement, Statistics and Evaluation; or a directly rltd fld. Must have knwldg or coursework in the fllwng: Statistics; Language testing; Educational measurement; Quantitative data analysis; Psychometrics; and Programming languages: Python & R. To apply, Email resumes to jobs@duolingo.com, ref. code 6424231

PRODUCT DESIGNERS, DATA

Duolingo, Inc. is seeking multiple Product Designers, Data (Pittsburgh, PA) to integrate user feedback data & business reqts into ongoing product design prototyping. Requires Bachelor’s degree in Comp Sci, Data Science, Mathematics, Info Sci, or rltd fld. Must have coursework or exp with: Human-centered design or human-computer interaction; Prototyping; Usability testing; Figma, SQL, Java, Panda, SKLearn; Artificial intelligence or machine learning; Data Visualization; Data Structures; and 2D & 3D modeling. To apply, Email resumes to jobs@duolingo.com, ref. code 6639945

SOFTWARE DEVELOPER PRINCIPAL (MULTIPLE OPENINGS)

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has multiple openings for a Software Developer Principal in Pittsburgh, PA, to participate in all aspects of PNC’s Technology Innovation Incubation and Emerging Technologies. Specific duties include: (i) creating and leading the technical design and development of software solutions including emerging technologies; (ii) proposing and designing software solutions to address complex business needs; (iii) preparing technical and procedural documentation required for software development; (iv) facilitating complex problem resolution; (v) providing technical guidance and support to colleagues; (vi) reviewing coding, testing, and documentation of software; (vii) applying modern principles, methodologies and tools to advance business initiatives and capabilities; (viii) providing technical solution for proof-of-concept and prototypes that result in product development; (ix) working with design thinking team to strategize user experience and UI implementation; (x) providing technical mentorship to senior and junior developers; (xi) working with the performance engineering team to meet performance and load testing requirements; and (xii) continuously learning and applying modern principles, methodologies and tools to advance business initiatives and capabilities.

Bachelor’s degree in Computing, Electronics Engineering, Computer Information Systems, MIS or Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Computer Systems Engineering, or Systems Engineering, plus 5 years of experience in Java software development is required. Experience must include: (i) a minimum of 3 years working with Agile Scrum team for process design, development and testing; (ii) providing technical training to team members and providing guidance to the team to solve system and application development issues; (iii) developing and deploying application code in non-production and production systems; (iv) experience with the full project lifecycle, including business requirements analysis, estimation, design, development, testing, implementation, deployment, support and enhancement; (v) automating build and deploy processes following DevOps practices; (vi) languages and frameworks, including Java, C# .Net, JavaScript, Spring Framework, Angular, Node JS, HTML5, CSS3, SOAP, and REST APIs; (vii) SQL and Non-SQL databases: MongoDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL; and (viii) Authorization and Authentication protocols, including OAuth2 and OpenID Connect.

40 hours/week, 8:00am-5:00pm.

Interested individuals apply online at www.pnc.com using keyword R122155. PNC provides equal employment opportunity to qualified persons regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, veteran status, or other categories protected by law.

ASSOCIATE PRODUCT MANAGER, SYSTEMS/APPLICATION

SOFTWARE DESIGNER

Duolingo, Inc. seeks an Associate Product Manager, Systems/Application Software Designer (Pittsburgh, PA) to define & drive the roadmap for how users learn & evaluate Duolingo’s products with an eye towards optimization, using data-driven metrics. Req’s Bachelor’s degree in Info Systms, Comp Sci, or rltd fld. Must have knowledge or coursework in the following: UX Design; Hypothesis Tests; Competitive Advantage; Cognitive psychology; Human-computer interaction; Algorithms; Data Structures; User-centered research; Interaction Design; Rapid Prototyping; and the following programming languages: Javascript, HTML, React, Figma, SQL, C. To apply, email resumes to jobs@duolingo.com, ref. code 6496045

ASSOCIATE PRODUCT MANAGERS, GROWTH/APPLICATION

SOFTWARE DESIGNER

Duolingo, Inc. seeks multiple Associate Product Managers, Growth/Application Software Designer (Pittsburgh, PA) to drive user growth by defining the product strategy & roadmap & owning key optimizations through all user lifecycle stages. Requires Bachelor’s degree in Human Com puter Interaction, Comp Sci, Info Sys, Mathematics, Statistics, or a rltd fld. Must have knowledge or coursework in the following: UX Design; Data Analysis; Hypothesis Tests; Competitive Advantage; Cognitive psychology; Human-computer interaction; User-centered research; Interaction Design; Rapid Prototyping; and the following programming languages: Javascript, Python, HTML, React, Figma, SQL, C. To apply, email resumes to jobs@duolingo.com, ref. code 6424206

OPERATIONS ENGINEERS

Duolingo, Inc. is seeking multiple Operations Engineers (Pittsburgh, PA) to streamline operational & dvlpmnt practices. Requires a Bachelor’s degree in Comp Sci, Mathematics, Info Sci, or rltd fld.

Must have coursework or exp with: Algorithmic design techniques; Efficiency of algorithms; Transform algorithms to programs; Python scripting; Cloud computing; System admin; Automation; Computer network security services; and Physical network access. To apply email resumes to jobs@duolingo.com, ref. code 6642679

HELP WANTED BOROUGH OF SWISSVALE CDL DRIVERS!

The Borough of Swissvale is hiring drivers with a Class A or B CDL to drive garbage and recycling trucks. Duties of the job include collecting trash and/or recycling on a daily basis and disposing of the trash at the appropriate facility.

• 40 Hour Work Week Guaranteed.

• Some overtime.

• Regular Work Hours 6:00 a.m. –2:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday.

• No evenings, overnights or holidays,

• Home every night!

• Medical, Dental, Vision, Life and AD&D Insurance for employee at no cost.

• Defined benefit pension plan at no cost.

If interested, please submit an application by November 1, 2022. Applications can be downloaded at www.swissvaleborough.com, click the “Government” tab and then the “Employment” tab. If you do not have internet access, please call 412-271-7101 to get an application. Applications can be submitted in person or e-mailed to gbachy@swissvaleborough.com. Applications can also be mailed to CDL Driver Search, Borough of Swissvale, 7560 Roslyn Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15218.

All prospective employees must pass a pre-employment physical and drug test. CDL drivers are subject to random drug testing as per the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act.

All prospective employees must have a clean driving record with no DUI’s or suspensions in the past five (5) years.

All prospective employees must be vaccinated against COVID-19 at the time of hire. Applicants who are not vaccinated or willing to be vaccinated will not be considered for employment.

The Borough of Swissvale is an Equal Opportunity Employer that does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry) disability, marital status, sexual orientation or military status in any of its activities or operations.

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE POSITION OF FIREFIGHTER FOR THE ALTOONA FIRE DEPARTMENT

Applications for Firefighter for the City of Altoona can be obtained from the Human Resources Office in City Hall at 1301 12th Street, Suite 400, Altoona, PA 16601; between 8:30 A.M. and 4:30 P.M., Monday through Friday. For additional information and requirements, please visit www.altoonapa.gov/employment Completed applications must be received in the Human Resources Department no later than NOON ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2022.

The City of Altoona is an Equal Opportunity Employer

LEGAL ADVERTISING

Legal Notices

Estate of MR. ROBERT CORADI Deceased of 220 Sonni Lane, McKees Rocks, PA 15136, Estate No.: 02-22-06606, Ms. Kristin Coradi, Administrator, c/o Max C. Feldman, Esquire and the Law Office of Max C. Feldman, 1322 Fifth Avenue, Coraopolis, Pa 15108

Estate of ROBERT V. LAMANNA Deceased of McCandless Township, Pennsylvania, No.: 02-22-06353, Gina L. Kilpela, Executrix or to Ryan W. Brode, Atty, 6 Clairton Blvd. Pittsburgh, PA 15236

In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny, Orphan’s Court Division, Estate of JAMES M. VEATCH, deceased, Case No. 6696 of 2022: Notice is hereby given that on October 14, 2022 a Petition was filed by Cheryl M. Veatch to terminate the interests of the heirs and devisees of James M. Veatch, Sr. in the real estate located at 240 Kirk Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15227 and determine that fee simple title is vested in Cheryl M. Veatch. Attorney Peter B. Lewis, 928 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, (412) 586-6153.

Estate of CATHERINE I. HETZER, Deceased of Moon Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, No. 02-22-06642, Raymond R. Hetzer, Jr., Executor, 119 McClafferty Lane, Moon Township, PA 15108 or to TODD A. FULLER, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC., 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017

In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny, Orphan’s Court Division, Estate of MARLENE KOEHLER, deceased, Case No. 6709 of 2022: Notice is hereby given that on October 14, 2022 a Petition was filed by Brielle Reed to terminate the interests of the heirs and devisees of Marlene Koehler in the real estate located at 221 13th Street, Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, 15215, and determine that fee simple title is vested in Brielle Reed.Attorney Peter B. Lewis, 928 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, (412) 586-6153.

In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny, Orphan’s Court Division, Estate of LINDA KASPEROWSKI, deceased, Case No. 6707 of 2022: Notice is hereby given that on October 14, 2022 the Will of Linda Kasperowski was admitted to probate and Brielle Reed was appointed Executrix thereof. The last address of the said Linda Kasperowski was 221 13th Street, Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, 15215. Attorney Peter B. Lewis, 928 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, (412) 586-6153.

Estate of RUTH ANN STEFANIAK, Deceased of Mt. Lebanon Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, No. 02-22-06639, Deborah L. Nicklaus, Executor, 6730 22nd Avenue N, Suite G, St. Petersburg, FL 33710 or to TODD A. FULLER, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC., 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017

In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny, Orphan’s Court Division, Estate of DORIS LOUISE WORTHY deceased, Case No. 4994 of 2022: Notice is hereby given that on August 1, 2022 a Petition was filed by Michelle R. Worthy to terminate the interests of the heirs and devisees of Doris Louise Worthy in the real estate located at 1311 Grotto Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15206 and determine that fee simple title is vested in Michelle R. Worthy. Attorney Peter B. Lewis, 928 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, (412) 586-6153.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Public Notice

MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY

The Community College of Allegheny County Board of Trustees will hold a meeting on November 3, 3022. The meeting will be held virtually beginning at 4:30 p.m. and streamed on CCAC’s YouTube page. A copy of the Board meeting agenda will be made available for review on the College’s website (www.ccac.edu) Comments regarding items scheduled for action by the Board may be submitted via email to brichardson@ccac.edu by no later than 3:00 p.m. on the date of the meeting. Comments will be read into the record, up to a maximum of three minutes each.

HACP BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OCTOBER MEETING

Due to the COVID-19 protective guidelines set forth by federal, state, and local governments, the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh’s Board of Commissioners will hold its monthly meeting for October on October 27, 2022, at 10:30 a.m. on a remote basis. The meeting will be held remotely, with public access to be provided online.

HACP will provide a direct link to a livestream of the meeting, and instruction on how to make a public comment. Details will be made available on http://www.hacp.org, in advance of the meeting

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.

NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY FOR PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT AND PUBLIC HEARING HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH 2023 ADMISSIONS AND CONTINUED OCCUPANCY POLICY

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) is revising the Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy (ACOP).

The proposed revisions for both the ACOP and Housing Choice Voucher Program Administrative Plan will be available for review from October 21, 2022 to November 21, 2022, on the HACP website: www.hacp.org.

Written comments on the proposed revisions must be addressed to “Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy.” ACOP changes can be sent to Asset Management, 225 Ross St. #501, Pittsburgh, PA 15219

For questions regarding the Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy” please contact Devin Shirey at 412-456-5000 ext. 3164. Written comments must be received by close of business (5:00 p.m.) on November 21, 2022

A public hearing to receive public comments on the revised 2023 HACP Admissions and Continued Occupancy Policy will be held on Tuesday, November 22, 2022 via Zoom.

10:00 am. Via zoom: Meeting ID: 843 7226 0679 Password: 871775

Via phone: 1-301-715-8592

https://www.google.com/ url?q=https://us06web.zoom.us/ j/84372260679?pwd%3DYm 41SmJuZndvZ0R6MGNFNEFjd\ kx2UT09&sa=D&source=calen dar

&ust=1665868758975339&usg =AOvVaw1TQ2izqqoK5oBZeCk fghls

5:00 p.m. Via zoom: Meeting ID: 839 2402 1896 Passcode: 412183

Via phone: 1-301-715-8592

https://www.google.com/ url?q=https://us06web.zoom.us /j/83924021896?pwd%3DL0Jp OUpJY2Q4MmNsaVJuTmY2YX B6QT09&sa=D&source=calendar &ust=1665868859765534&usg= AOvVaw15Bv71o684mt1jMlC52Y R0

Persons

at 412-456-5282,

TTY 412456-5282.

City of Pittsburgh – Office of Management and

Room 501 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-255-2211

This notice shall satisfy two separate but related procedural requirements for activities to be undertaken by the City of Pittsburgh.

REQUEST FOR RELEASE OF FUNDS (1) – CDBG PROJECT

On or about Tuesday, November 15, 2022, the City of Pittsburgh will submit a request to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the release of Federal funds under Title 1 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 as amended to undertake a project known as the Jasmine Nyree Elevator Project, for the purpose of: The Jasmine Nyree Elevator Project is a revitalization project located at 3048 Ashlyn Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15204 in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of Sheraden. The Dr. Phillip Birdine Learning Center at 3048 Ashlyn Street on the Jasmine Nyree Campus houses a day program for special needs adults and an afterschool program for youth in grades K-12. The building currently lacks an elevator. The project will develop architecture and engineering plans, implement the construction of the 4-story elevator, including reinforcement of the roof, walls, and peripheral supports, rehabilitation of interior including repair and reinforcement of the elevator, floors, and hallway, and installation of electrical wiring. The project is funded by the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Neighborhood Initiatives Fund Program (NIF), and will utilize $100,000.00 of CDBG 2019 funding. The total cost of the project is $100,000.00

FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT (2) – CDBG PROJECT

The City of Pittsburgh has determined that the project will have no significant impact on the human environment. Therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) is not required. Additional project information is contained in the Environmental Review Record (ERR). The ERR will be made available to the public for review either electronically or by U.S. mail. Please submit your request by U.S. mail to City of Pittsburgh, Office of Management and Budget, 414 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 Street, Room 501 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (412) 255-2211 OR Whitney.Finnstrom@pittsburghpa.gov

All comments received by Friday, November 11, 2022 will be considered by the City of Pittsburgh prior to authorizing submission of a request for release of funds. Comments should specify which Notice (Request for Release of Funds 1 or Finding of No Significant Impact 2) they are addressing.

ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION

The City of Pittsburgh certifies to HUD that Ed Gainey 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 approval of the certification satisfies its responsibilities under NEPA and related laws and authorities and allows the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh to use development funds.

OBJECTIONS TO RELEASE OF FUNDS

HUD will accept objections to its release of funds and the City of Pittsburgh certification for a period of fifteen (15) days following the anticipated submission date or its actual receipt of the request (whichever is later) only if they are on one of the following bases: (a) the certification was not executed by the Certifying Officer of the City of Pittsburgh; (b) the City of Pittsburgh has omitted a step or failed to make a decision or finding required by HUD regulations at 24 CFR part 58; (c) the grant recipient or other participants in the development process have committed funds, incurred costs or undertaken activities not authorized by 24 CFR Part 58 before approval of a release of funds by HUD; or (d) another Federal agency acting pursuant to 40 CFR Part 1504 has submitted a written finding that the project is unsatisfactory from the standpoint of environmental quality. Objections must be prepared and submitted in accordance with the required procedures (24 CFR Part 58, Sec. 58.76) and shall be addressed to the HUD Field Office of Community Planning and Development in Pittsburgh at Phillip.E.McKeough@hud.gov /(412) 6445846 regarding HUD CDBG funds.

Potential objectors should contact the HUD Field Office of Community Planning and Development in Pittsburgh via email or phone as given above to verify the actual last day of the objection period.

Ed Gainey Mayor City of Pittsburgh

FORM OF ADVERTISEMENT

PUBLICATION DATE: October 21, 2022

1. The Public Parking Authority of Pittsburgh (“Authority”) shall accept sealed bids for the performance of the work described below (the “Work”) at its office at 232 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15222, until 10:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, November 15, 2022

2. DESCRIPTION OF WORK: The Project entails the Limited Scope of Repairs at the Wood Allies Parking Garage.

3. The Instructions to Bidders, including the Form of Bid, Form of Agreement, General Conditions, Plans and Specifications, and Zoom meeting information will be made available after 3:00 p.m. local time on Friday, October 21, 2022 via email request to the Authority’s Project Management Department at tsowinski@pittsburghparking.com or obtained from the Authority’s website homepage at www.pittsburghparking.com.

4 A Mandatory pre-bid conference will be held virtually via Zoom at 10:00 a.m. local time on Friday, October 28, 2022. The purpose of the pre-bid conference is to provide additional detail regarding the Work. The information provided at the pre-bid conference will be essential in preparing a bid to perform the Work. Persons or entities that intend to submit bids to perform the Work are required to join into the pre-bid conference via Zoom with at least one representative who will understand the information presented at the pre-bid conference in a manner that allows such information to be incorporated in the preparation of the bid to perform the Work. It is expected that the representative who attends the pre-bid conference will be experienced in construction matters and employed by the bidder in a supervisory capacity. Virtual Zoom Pre-bid attendance is mandatory, and each attendee must sign in via online form.

5. Sealed bids must be dropped off to the Public Parking Authority of Pittsburgh at 232 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, no later than 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 bids received prior to the deadline will be publicly opened and read 3:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday, November 15, 2022, virtually via Zoom meeting.

6

. Each bid submitted must be accompanied by a bid guaranty of ten percent (10%) of the proposed bid in the form of a bid bond, certified cashier’s or treasurer’s check payable to the Authority.

7. The Authority reserves the right to in its sole discretion, (i) change, at any time prior to the bid deadline at 10:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 the Contract Documents; (ii) waive any defect, irregularities, or informality in any or all submitted bids; and (iii) reject any or all submitted bids.

David G. Onorato Executive Director

LEGAL ADVERTISING Bids/Proposals

NOTICE TO BIDDERS

The Sports & Exhibition Authority will receive sealed bids for Expanded Hot Water Recirculation System as identified below for the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The contract for this work will be with the Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Inquiries regarding the bidding should be made to the Sports & Exhibition Authority 171 10th Street, 2nd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, Attention: Spencer Girman- E-mail: sgirman@pittsburghcc.com, Telephone: 412-325-6137. Bid Packages may be obtained after the date identified below through Accu-Copy at (724) 935-7055. Additional information on the project can also be found of Accu-Copy’s website at https://accu-copy.com/plan-room.

This Advertisement applies to the following Bid Package:

Project: David L. Lawrence Convention Center Bid Package Name: Expanded Hot Water Recirculation System Bid Package Available: Thursday, October 20, 2022 Approximate Value: $450,000

Time/Date/Location for Pre-Bid Meeting: 11:00 AM, Friday, October 28, 2022

David L. Lawrence Convention Center 1000 Ft. Duquesne Blvd Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Time/Date/Location for Bid: 2:00 PM, Wednesday, November 16, 2022 David L. Lawrence Convention Center 1000 Ft. Duquesne Blvd Pittsburgh, PA 15222

LEGAL ADVERTISEMENT

PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY D/B/A PITTSBURGH REGIONAL TRANSIT REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL NO. 22-12

Port Authority of Allegheny County d/b/a Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT) is requesting proposals for the performance of the following service (“Contract Services”):

UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION SERVICES

The work under the proposed Agreement consists of administration of PRT’s unemployment compensation program in general areas, to include unemployment tax management; claims administration; benefit audits; and account management. The Agreement will be for a three-year period with the option to extend the term of the Agreement up to two additional years at the sole discretion of PRT.

A copy of the Request for Proposal (RFP) will be available on or after October 20, 2022 and can be obtained by registering at the PRT’s ebusiness website: http://ebusiness.rideprt.org and following the directions listed on the website. Please note that Proposers must register under the ebusiness categories of PSBSPA – Pro Benefits/Wages/Pension and PSFAIB –Pro Fin Advisory/Invest/Banking for this RFP. Proposers may also reg ister in other categories for any future RFPs issued by PRT. If you have specific questions regarding this RFP, please contact Catherine Terrill at (412) 566-5188 or via email cterrill@rideprt.org.

An Information Meeting for interested parties will be held at 9:30 a.m., prevailing time, November 4, 2022 via Microsoft Teams video confer ence and/or conference call to answer any questions regarding this RFP.

To join by Microsoft Team video conference: • https://bit.ly/RFP2212InfoMtg

To join by Microsoft Teams call-in number: • (412) 927-0245 United State, Pittsburgh (Toll)

• Conference ID: 648 525 90#

Electronic proposals must be both received, and time stamped by a representative of the Procurement Department through PRT’s Ebusiness website at or before 2:00 p.m., prevailing time, November 22, 2022, at http://ebusiness.rideprt.org. Proposals received or time stamped by a Procurement Department representative through PRT’s Ebusiness website after the advertised time for the submission of proposals shall be non-responsive and therefore ineligible for award. Each Proposer shall be solely responsible for assuring that its proposal is timely received and time stamped in accordance with the requirements herein. This Contract Services may be funded, in part, by, and subject to certain requirements of, the County of Allegheny and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The proposal process and the performance of the requested services will be in accordance with guidelines and regulations of the FTA “Third Party Contracting Guidelines” FTA Circular 4220.1F, as amended, and all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

Port Authority of Allegheny County d/b/a Pittsburgh Regional Transit, in compliance with 49 C.F.R., Part 26, as amended, implements positive affirmative action procedures to ensure that all Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (“DBEs”) have the maximum opportunity to participate in the performance of contracts and subcontracts financed, in whole or in part, with federal funds, if any, provided under or for the proposed Agreement.

In this regard, all recipients or contractors shall take all necessary and reasonable steps in accordance with 49 C.F.R., Part 26, to ensure that DBEs have the maximum opportunity to compete for, and perform contracts and subcontracts for, the Contract Services.

Port Authority of Allegheny County d/b/a Pittsburgh Regional Transit, in compliance with 74 Pa.C.S. § 303, as may be amended, also requires that certified Diverse Businesses, (“DBs”) have the maximum opportunity to compete for, and perform contracts and subcontract for, the Contract Services. In this regard, all Proposers, and the Contractor, shall make good faith efforts, in accordance with 74 Pa.C.S. § 303, to ensure that DBs have the maximum opportunity to compete for, and perform contracts and subcontracts for, the Contract Services.

Further, proposers and the Contractor shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, age, disability, national origin, sex, sexual origin, gender identity or status as a parent in the award and performance of contracts or subcontracts for these Contract Services

Port Authority of Allegheny County d/b/a Pittsburgh Regional Transit reserves the right to reject any or all proposals.

ADVERTISING Bids/Proposals

OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTBURGH

Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance Lobby, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on November 1, 2022, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for: Pgh. Schiller 6-8

Finish Floor Replacement and Miscellaneous Work General and Asbestos Abatement Primes

Pgh. King PreK-8

Replace EM (Emergency) Generator General and Electrical Primes

Pgh. Allegheny PreK-5 and Allegheny 6-8

Replace EM (Emergency) Generator General and Electrical Primes

Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on October 10, 2022, 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.

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH PUBLIC NOTICE OF REVISED FLAT RENT SCHEDULE 2023

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) , in accordance with federal law and regulation, is proposing revisions to its Low Income Public Housing Flat Rent Schedule. The revised 2023 HACP Flat Rent Schedule is available for review and comment from October 21, 2022 to November 21, 2022 on the HACP Web Site: www.hacp.org. Copies of the 2023 Flat Rent Schedule can be obtained by contacting the HACP Asset Management office at 412-643-3164.

A Public Hearing to receive public comments on the revised 2023 HACP Flat Rent Schedule will be held on Tuesday, November 22, 2022 at 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. via Zoom:

11:00 a.m. via zoom: Meeting ID: 864 0478 1468 Passcode: 350874 (US) 1-301-715-8592 Passcode: 350874

https://www.google.com/

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5:30 p.m. via zoom: Meeting

ID: 883 3598 7126 Passcode: 236078 (US) 1-301-715-8592 Passcode: 236078

https://www.google.com/ url?q=https://us06web.zoom.us/ j/88335987126?pwd%3DR2R2S C9lYys5OHFLVERiMFU5M1RP Zz09&sa=D&source=calendar& ust=1665867744748134&usg= AOvVaw1PvYd0XPls3D29hvFE1 Rj2

Written comments on the HACP Flat Rent Schedule must be addressed to 2023 HACP Flat Rent Schedule. Comments must be received by close of business (5:00 p.m.) on November 21, 2022 and sent to the following e-mail address: michelle.ralston@hacp.org or call 412-643-2851. Once approved, the final revised HACP Flat Rent Schedule will be effective January 1, 2023.

Persons with disabilities requiring assistance or alternative formats, or wishing to submit comments in alternative formats, can contact the HACP ADA/504 Coordinator at 412-456-5020, Extension 2504; TTY 412-201-5384. All other questions should be addressed to the Asset Management Office at 412-6433164.