3.5.25 FULL

Pittsburgh

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

In under three months, Pittsburgh—and the nation—pretty much will know who will lead the Steel City into 2026 and beyond. Barring a mayoral miracle if Republican

candidates Tony Moreno or Thomas West are elected, it will either be incumbent Democrat Ed Gainey, who is the first Black mayor in Pittsburgh’s history, or Democrat Corey O’Connor, current Allegheny County Controller. It took Pittsburgh

roughly 205 years to elect its first Black mayor. And from the day he officially took office in January 2022, Mayor Gainey has faced a litany of issues and challenges, not unlike other mayors. But in a city that’s had Blacks always in the minority, the may-

by Maia Williams

For New Pittsburgh Courier

Homewood is rewriting its narrative for future generations.

Meet The Maker's Clubhouse (TMC) Early Learning Center, a Black-owned and led preschool dedicated to serving local families. It is owned by Bible Center Church and part of the church's Oasis Project, which is the church's community and economic development division.

TMC Early Learning Center offers an education for children ages 3 to 5, following the Frog Street Pre-K curriculum. The comprehensive, dual-language curriculum supports diverse learners and promotes development across multiple learning domains. It focuses on foundational skills such as letter sounds, letter recognition, and reading comprehension.

"There's a lot of opportunities for very creative lessons," DiAnne Levy, TMC Early Learning Center director, told the New Pittsburgh Courier. She said the program allows teach-

ers to present lessons in a variety of creative ways.

Executive Director of the Oasis Project, Pastor Cynthia Wallace, Ed.D., told the Courier that the preschool stems from a commitment to address the social and emotional well-being of Homewood children in addition to what she called a high-quality education.

“The center is designed to be a space of beauty, innovation, collaboration, and empowerment, reflecting the diversity of the community and anticipating the varied learning styles and challenges of young learners,” Wallace said. They recognized Homewood’s lack of prime early childhood education options. “The preschool aims to fill this gap by creating a nurturing environment that promotes positive racial identity, engages children in critical thinking, and prepares them academically and socially for future educational success.”

Its doors officially opened in November 2023

or and his supporters always felt that his “issues and challenges” might be sprinkled with a bit of racial discrimination, something no other mayor in Pittsburgh ever had to deal with.

“This ain’t nothin’ new to us,” Mayor Gainey

“We always know that at the end of the day,” Mayor Gainey told the Courier, “African Amer-

told the New Pittsburgh Courier exclusively, Monday, March 3, moments after he held a press conference on the North Side to tell the city that about roughly 20 percent of his main opponent’s campaign contributions had come from what Gainey called Donald Trump supporters, or “MAGA donors.”

MAYOR ED GAINEY SPEAKS ON THE NORTH SIDE, MONDAY, MARCH 3. (PHOTO BY ROB TAYLOR JR.)

Black shoppers plan to take a ‘Target Fast’ for Lent

by Rev. Dorothy S. Boulware

In 1955, fed up with segregation on city transit buses, Black people in Birmingham, Alabama, refused to ride them at all. The months-long boycott, which hit downtown businesses along with the transit company, crippled the city; after losing millions in revenue, Birmingham officials agreed to integrate the bus system.

Seven years later, angry Black shoppers in Montgomery refused to patronize downtown retailers because of Jim Crow policies in their stores. It took just 37 days for store owners to give in and promise to treat Black shoppers with respect if they called off the boycott.

Now, it’s Target Corporation’s turn. Black faith leaders are urging their congregants to give up shopping there for the 40 days of Lent — a boycott known as “Target Fast.”

The boycott, organizers say, is punishment for Target abandoning its policies that encouraged racial diversity, equity, and inclusion in its operations, and ending its 2020 pledge to spend $2 billion in partnerships with Black-owned businesses.

“Black people spend $12 million a day at Target,” says Rev. Jamal Bryant, pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, the leader of Target Fast. If even a portion of those dollars vanished even for one day, he said, the Minneapolis-based retail giant would definitely feel the pinch. Bryant is joined in the call to action by other Black faith leaders of stature.

‘Renewed Jim Crow’ Senior Pastor Howard-John Wesley of Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, has urged his congregation to join the national boycott. He directed them to TargetFast.com for information that can help them make an informed decision.

“We don’t just sit by and watch the world deteriorate,” he said, quoting Howard Thurman, a noted Black theologian and philosopher. “The power of prayer is directly connected to your willingness to be part of God’s answer.”

Meanwhile, the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a coalition of historic Black newspapers, editors, and journalists, will support the Target boycott with a national public education and selective-buying campaign.

Black people spend $12 million a day at Target

NNPA Chairman Bobby R. Henry Sr. said his organization will never be silent during the rise of “renewed Jim Crow racist policies in corporate America.”

Meanwhile, The People’s Union—which describes itself as a non-ideological movement for fairness—is calling for a total consumer boycott on Feb. 28. They envision “a day where we show corporations and politicians that we control the economy.“

Rev. Al Sharpton, founder and CEO of National Action Network, says the organization will join in the February 28 boycott. He calls the reversal of DEI programs at several corporate retailers an attempt to return Black people to the “back of the bus.”

The boycott would start on March 5 — Ash Wednesday — and last until Easter Sunday, April 20.

There’s no doubt that, collectively, Black economic power is significant. According to McKinsey & Co., an economic markets analysis firm, Black consumers spent about $910 billion on goods and services in 2019, and that total is expected to reach $1.7 trillion by 2030. Under the plan, the boycott would start on March 5—Ash Wednesday—and last until Easter Sunday, April 20. Black consumers are asked to take a pledge and commit to steering clear of Target—online shopping as well as brickand-mortar stores—to send

This Week In Black History A Courier Staple

•MARCH

5

1770—Crispus Attucks is shot and killed by British soldiers becoming the first American to die in the struggle for American Independence from England. Attucks was an escaped slave who became a sailor and rope maker. It is unclear exactly how he became involved in the protest of that day. But a crowd had gathered and began to taunt British troops. Attucks, who was of Black and Indian parentage, was inspired to give a speech in which he spoke of the importance of freedom. Suddenly a volley of shots was fired into the crowd. Four people died that day in an event which became known as the Boston Massacre.

a clear message regarding the DEI measures it implemented years ago, ahead of many corporate peers.

Target landed in hot water with Black consumers not long after President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Just hours after taking the oath of office, Trump signed an executive order ending diversity and inclusion programs in the federal government, declaring a return to “merit-based” hiring and promotion.

Betrayal

to Black Shoppers

Bryant said both the president and Target have gotten it wrong: “DEI initiatives first benefit White women, not African Americans,” he said.

Within days, major corporations and retailers followed suit, announcing they, too, were ending their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and policies. Target was among them.

The move by Target seemed like a betrayal to many in the Black community.

It was among the first retailers to commit to diversity in its practices, showcased Black products in its stores, and committed to doing $2 billion with Blackowned businesses. Besides being a show of Black consumer muscle, Bryant sees the Lent boycott as leverage for a new set of demands.

“What I’m asking for is a quarter of a billion dollars to be invested in Black banks so that our Black businesses can scale,” Bryant told Black Press USA. “Target has 10 distribution centers near HBCUs, and I’m asking them to partner with the business departments of these institutions.”

As the start day approaches, the reach of social media has helped build momentum for what’s being called “Target Fast.” To ensure consumers have alternatives, Bryant joined with the U.S. Black Chamber of Commerce to produce a directory of 300,000 Blackowned businesses.

“You can’t tell people to refrain from this choice without providing alternatives,” Bryant said.

• MARCH 6

1857—Perhaps the most thoroughly racist decision ever rendered by a U.S. Supreme Court is released on this day—the Dred Scott decision. Scott and his wife, Harriet, had sued in St. Louis Circuit Court claiming they were free because their slave master had taken them from a slave state to the free territory of Missouri. However, in a majority opinion written by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney the court ruled: 1) Blacks, be they slave or free, were not and could not be U.S. citizens and thus were not entitled to file suit in U.S. courts, 2) Denied Congress the power to restrict slavery by declaring the 1820 Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, 3) Declared that where the Constitution said, “All men are created equal,” the phrase did not include Blacks, and 4) Told African Americans that they “had no rights the White man was bound to respect.” However, reflecting the law of unintended consequences, the Dred Scott decision was so harsh and so angered anti-slavery forces that it helped pave the way for the Civil War which ended all slavery in America.

• MARCH 7

1539—This is probably the day Estevanico—the first Black conquistador— was killed. Estevanico, a Black Moor from Morocco, was sold as a servant when he was only 10 but became friends with his owner Andres de Dorantes and joined a 1527 expedition of 300 men from Spain looking for riches in what would later become the U.S. state of Florida. All but four members of the expedition were wiped out by the Indians they tried to conquer. Estevanico was among those who survived. He was held captive for five years but became a “medicine man” and learned the languages of various tribes. He eventually escaped and in February of 1539 led an expedition to Culiacan, Mexico looking for one of the fabled lost city of gold—El Dorado. It was doing this expedition that he was killed.

1965—On this day in Black history, the first leg of the Selma-to-Montgomery march is completed as thousands joined Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in protesting racial injustice in Alabama. An earlier attempt to complete the march had been disrupted by a police attack. The Alabama National Guard was federalized and U.S. Army troops were called in to protect the marchers. It was shortly after this march that a White female supporter of the civil rights struggle, Viola Liuzzo, was shot and killed by Ku Klan Klan-style terrorists opposed to civil rights for Blacks.

1997 Former Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley dies. Manley is perhaps best known for his brand of democratic socialism and attempting to organize Caribbean and African nations into a bloc to press for better prices for their raw materials.

• MARCH 8

1977 Henry L. Marsh III is elected the first Black mayor of Richmond, Va. Before becoming mayor of the capital of the old confederacy, Marsh had made a name for himself confronting the city’s White power structure as a civil rights attorney. He also served in the state senate.

1993—Jazz great Billy Eckstine dies at 78 in Pittsburgh, Pa. Eckstine came to fame in the 1940’s and 1950’s as a singer and bandleader who worked with some of the greatest names of the era including Louis Armstrong and Lena Horne. He was one of the greatest influences upon modern Jazz and B-bop. Among his best known ballads were “Everything I Have Is Yours,” “Blue Moon,” “Caravan” and “That Old Black Magic.”

• MARCH 9

1841—The U.S. Supreme Court rules that Joseph Cinque and his fellow mutineers are free men. Along with several of his Mendi tribesmen, Cinque, son of an African king, had been captured and sold into slavery. But in 1839, he led a revolt on the Spanish slave ship Amistad, killed the captain and seized control of the ship. However, a U.S. military ship seized the Amistad off the coast of Long Island, New York. The seizure led to pro-

tracted court battles in which Cinque and his men were charged with murder. But in an unusual ruling for its day, the high court held, in effect, that the men had a human right to try to escape bondage and allowed them to return to Africa. 1871—Noted Black politician Oscar De Priest is born in Florence, Ala. After moving to Chicago, he becomes a major political force in the city serving on the board of commissioners and then on the city council (1915-1917). However, De Priest became a national political figure when he was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1928. Throughout his years of political service he was known as “a persuasive agent for the Black masses.” He died in 1951.

1931—Walter F. White is named executive secretary of the NAACP. The Atlanta, Georgia-born White was arguably the most devoted and determined person ever to head the civil rights organization and was easily one of the top Black leaders of the first half of the 20th century. The light-complexioned and blue-eyed White also became a legend in 1919 when he “passed for white” in order to investigate a race riot in Elaine, Ark., which had left over 100 Blacks dead. He barely escaped with his life when news leaked out as to who he was. A train conductor, thinking he was White, is said to have joked with him saying, “You’re leaving too early. The fun is about to start. The boys are going to lynch a yellow Nigger passing for White.”

1997—Rap artist The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace) is shot to death in Los Angeles, Calif., as a result of an alleged east-coast-west-coast dispute in the Rap music industry. The killing has never been solved criminally. But a civil suit in Los Angeles federal court accused two rouge Los Angeles police officers of arranging the drive-by shooting that led to his death.

• MARCH 10

1913—The “greatest conductor of the Underground Railroad” Harriet Tubman dies on this day in Auburn, N.Y. Born in slavery in Dorchester County, Md., in 1819 or 1820. Harriet was a person of strong wild and principle. For example, at age 12 she received a severe blow to the head from a White overseer when she refused to help tie up a slave who had tried to escape. Around age 30, fearing she was about to be sold into the Deep South, Tubman escaped to Canada. But she returned to Maryland on numerous occasions helping family members and over 300 other slaves escape to freedom via the Underground Railroad. She frequently threatened to shoot any slave who became frightened and wanted to turn back.

1969—The man officially convicted of assassinating civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. pleads guilty to the crime on this day. However, James Earl Ray promptly tried to withdraw the plea suggesting that there had actually been a government conspiracy to assassinate King, which involved the Mafia and members of the right-wing Cuban exile community in Florida. Ray admitted buying the rifle and renting the room in the Memphis, Tenn., flophouse from where the deadly shot was fired. But he maintained he gave the rifle to a mysterious man named Raoul. The House Select Committee on Assassinations would later conclude that Ray fired the shot but was probably part of a broader conspiracy.

1972—The first modern National Black Political Convention began on this day in Gary, Ind. It drew over 3,000 delegates and 500 observers as well as participation from just about every major Black political and civil rights organization in the nation. However, some moderate civil rights groups, like the NAACP, withdrew after the convention adopted resolutions critical of busing and Israeli racism against the Palestinians.

• MARCH 11

1874—Charles Sumner, one of the greatest White heroes of Black history, dies at age 63. Sumner became involved in politics as a powerful orator against slavery. For his efforts he was brutally beaten in the Capitol Building by a South Carolina Congressman in May 1856. But he was not deterred. It was Sumner who introduced the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery in America. He was also among those who proposed aiding the economic advancement of the former slaves by giving each Black “40 acres and a mule” through the use of government land and by seizing land from the former slave owners.

1959—Lorraine Hansberry’s play “A Raisin in the Sun” opens on Broadway at the Barrymore Theatre with Sidney Poitier and Claudia McNeil in the starring roles. With 530 performances, the play became the longest running African American-written play in Broadway history, and the first Broadway hit written by an African American woman.

Mayor Gainey: Pittsburgh is not for sale

His opponent for mayor getting financial help from Trump supporters

ican leadership in the city has always been under attack. The attacks don’t really bother me, but what I (want people) to understand is, at the end of the day, everybody is going to distort the record.”

Currently, there is a poll out by news outlet Axios that found O’Connor leading Gainey by 12 points. Axios conducted an internal poll that found O’Connor leading 47 to 35 percent among likely Democratic voters in Pittsburgh.

Reports have also surfaced that O’Connor has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars more for his campaign than the incumbent, Gainey. And on Tuesday, March 5, KDKA-TV’s Andy Sheehan broke the news that Gainey’s pick for Chief of Police, Christopher Ragland, withdrew his name from the running and decided to retire from the police force.

In other words, Mayor Gainey told the Courier that no matter all the good he feels he’s done for the city in the threeplus years as mayor, he feels he’s never going to get a fair shot from most local media and from some residents in Pittsburgh. He feels as though most of the stories in the local media are tilted against him, and not for him.

He was bashed by his detractors on Monday, March 3, for holding a press conference denouncing O’Connor’s ties to MAGA donors and Trump supporters via the more than $130,000 that has been contributed by them to O’Connor’s campaign for this election bid. Bashed because Gainey accepted Republican monies as well. But Gainey countered, saying the funds were from four years ago, when Trump wasn’t even in presidential office, and that he returned the money that was given to him by Republican moneyman Cliff Forest, a staunch Trump supporter.

Gainey said his point was, with President Trump now in office erasing DEI policies and trying to throw immigrants out the country faster than a Paul Skenes fastball, this isn’t the time for

anyone—particularly a Democratic mayoral candidate in Pittsburgh—to be accepting money from the MAGAs. “There’s one place I didn’t expect to have to defend the MAGA assault, and that was the mayor’s primary race,” Gainey said during his press conference inside the QMNTY Center on East Ohio Street. “But unfortunately, this is where we’re at. Trump’s MAGA donors, his consultants and corporate interests, are trying to buy the mayor’s office by attacking me just like they, including Mr. (Elon) Musk, bought the White House by attacking Kamala Harris.”

Gainey added: “As mayor of a blue city... it is my job to tell the people of this city the truth.”

News outlets

“The Guardian” and “The Intercept” were the first to report the news about so-called MAGA (Make America Great Again) donors, people like Forrest, Herb Shear and Jeffrey Yass, contributing to O’Connor’s campaign this year.

“As Trump tries to tear away food from children, health care from veterans and cancer patients, to give his billionaire henchmen another handout, these same billionaires are meddling in our Democratic Primary, to force their right-wing, anti-worker, anti-family, anti-union agenda down our throat,” Gainey said. “It’s undemocratic.

But just as I’m prepared to stand against the assaults on our values as mayor, I’m prepared to stand against them as a candidate as well, because just as I know that Pittsburgh can’t afford to stand by and let Donald Trump and Elon Musk destroy our country, I also know that we can’t stand by as the same donors and advisors who put him in the White House try to steal the mayor’s office.”

“If you take MAGA money, you carry MAGA values,” voiced Eddie Carpio, who works with the local immigrant advocacy group Casa San Jose, prior to Gainey’s comments.

A Black trans woman, Chauntey Wilson, also denounced O’Connor’s accepting of what was dubbed “MAGA money.”

“I’m part of a communi -

ty that is being attacked by Trump and Trump supporters such as Corey O’Connor, who says that our children have no right to say, ‘this is how they’re going to grow up,’” Wilson said. “...When do we stand up and say enough? When do we let people know that Pittsburgh is not their city, but our city?”

O’Connor, in interviews with media outlets such as WPXI-TV (Channel 11), effectively called Gainey’s attacks “a joke.”

What’s not a joke, though, is the May 20 Primary Election. On March 9, the U.S. will be “springing forward” with their clocks, the sun will shine longer, and then, in the blink of an eye, it will be time for Pirates baseball. In another blink of the eye, May 20 will be here. It will be time for Pittsburghers to make their choice for mayor.

But if you’re Ed Gainey, you’re not shy about talking about your accomplishments, even if he says others won’t. “$600 million to reinvest in Downtown, a reduction in homicides, ages 13-17 none of our children have died; the NFL Draft coming here, $30 million (to build) affordable housing, $37 million in federal money to keep affordable housing going,” Gainey told the Courier. “We’ve done more in three years than most administrations have done in eight, and the reality is, that’s why we’re under attack, because we’re not dealing with the same people that used to run this city. When you’re fighting ‘interests,’ nobody wants to give up their ‘interests’ in order to have a fair playing field, particularly for us.”

Mayor Gainey also touted that multiple prime contractors on major construction projects in the city were African American contractors, and “54 percent of our subcontractors look like us. This is what I mean about making a city for all. If we’re not opening up employment opportunities... then we’re not moving, and no one has seen this movement until you had an African American as mayor.”

PITTSBURGH MAYOR ED GAINEY

Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., Scholarship Fundraiser

The East Central Province of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. (ECP) celebrated Founders Day Weekend in Pittsburgh, from January 31 to February 2, 2025. The event was hosted by the Pittsburgh Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. (PAC) and the Beta Epsilon Chapter (BE) of the University of Pittsburgh, with activities taking place at the Rivers Casino. The festivities commenced with a meet and greet for Brothers at the Rivers Casino Landing Hotel, followed by a happy hour at Burn by Rocky Patel, where Brothers and the Pittsburgh community enjoyed an evening of music, fun, camaraderie and cigars. Events on Feb. 1 began with a Brothers-only Founders Day Closed Banquet Luncheon at the Rivers Casino, attended by 112 Brothers. The keynote speaker, Brother Lt. General Leslie C. Smith, the 87th Grand Chapter Meeting Laurel Wreath Awardee, delivered an inspiring address titled “All In,” which also served as the theme for the week-

end.

During the time of the luncheon, the Pittsburgh Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. partnered with the Kappa Scholarship Endowment Fund of Western PA (KSEF) to host a women’s health symposium entitled, “And The Beat Goes On.” This symposium featured expert panelists discussing important women’s health issues related to heart and mental wellness, drawing significant attendance. Following the closed banquet luncheon, Brothers paid their respects at the gravesite of National Founder and PAC Charter Member Brother Marcus Peter Blakemore, holding a ceremony and moment of silence in his honor.

The Feb. 1 evening concluded with the KSEF Annual Fundraising event, “Klub Kappa,” which transformed the Rivers Casino Event Center into a lively club atmosphere complete with lights, music, dancing, food and drinks. Guests were blown away by the event’s ambiance and style. The event

successfully raised over $300,000 to support Western Pa. students pursuing higher education. Since its inception in 1991, KSEF has awarded over $5.3 million in scholarships to more than 275 students. Brother Howard Russell, the past KSEF President, received the inaugural Thomas K. Motley Award for Leadership, honoring the legacy of the late Brother Motley, a former PAC Polemarch and the driving force behind KSEF’s creation.

The current ECP Polemarch is Brother Marcus Bailey, while Brother Richard Freeman serves as the PAC Polemarch and Brother Ryan Ellison serves as the BE Polemarch. KSEF President is Brother Robert Powell, also a former PAC Polemarch.

KLUB KAPPA WAS THE SPOT TO BE ON A SATURDAY NIGHT, FEB. 1, AT THE RIVERS CASINO.

MARK AND MICHELLE LEWIS WITH CHENDA INNIS LEE AND ASA LEE (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)

MORTON STANFIELD, HONOREE HOWARD RUSSELL JR., ROBERT POWELL

SHAUDAE JONES, TIARRA BURTON, STARR GREEN, LATRICE SHANNON, KELLIE WARE AND SHANNON FINLEY-CRESSLER ARE ALL MEMBERS OF ALPHA KAPPA

INC.

MICHELLE HUMPHRIES-HAYES, SAM STEPHENSON AND TAJUANA STEPHENSON

THE DANCE FLOOR

THE BAND NAME IS CHUCK AND THE FELLAS

HONOREE OF THE THOMAS MOTLEY JR. AWARD IS HOWARD RUSSELL JR.

New learning center part of Bible Center Church’s commitment to Homewood

with the help of local partnerships and grant funding such as the Blueprint for Learning, Henry L. Hillman Foundation and The Heinz Endowments.

“These partnerships have been crucial in providing the necessary resources and support to bring the vision of the preschool to life," Wallace said.

Wallace mentioned that the overall goal for TMC Early Learning Center is to serve as a model for community-driven early childhood education in addition to enhancing educational outcomes for children in Homewood. “As an educator, I firmly believe that young children possess remarkable abilities to absorb and process information from their environment, making every moment a potential learning opportunity,” she said. Levy cultivates relationships with teachers through 30-minute one-onone meetings, giving them the opportunity to share feedback.

“I'm just having conversations with the teachers and asking them, ‘What do you need from me that's going to make you perform better,’ and then we can go from there.”

Ila Williams serves as the center's 4-5 year-old teacher and Nia Bowman is the 3-4 year-old teacher. There are also three assistant teachers.

Levy said she also values building relationships with parents and guardians and providing them with resources to enhance their children’s learning. If a child is struggling with writing numbers, their teacher may send home additional number-writing activities and other related exercises. The support provided is tailored

to each child's individual needs. “We also send out suggestions of book ideas for you to read with your children,” Levy said. She encourages parents and guardians to connect with her to better understand their children's needs and to share feedback.

“I've been able to establish relationships with the parents, which is really nice. I have parents come in and just chat.”

Levy continued: “I want you to feel that comfortable because we are having your children for eight to nine hours out of a day.”

Some parents and guardians have expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of TMC Early Learning Center, like Steve Davis, who told the Courier: “My grandson, Kadence Davis, has attended the Early Learning Center since its opening. I enrolled him and brought him to the center to get a quality Christian education from faculty and staff who look like him. I have been impressed with Kadence's ability to recognize letters, begin to read and make significant progress academically since enrolling. I appreciate the teachers who notice his natural talent around math and engineering concepts.”

TMC Early Learning Center is part of the transformation that Wallace and her husband, Pastor John Wallace Jr., Ph.D., are creating in Homewood. John Wallace Jr. is a Homewood native who returned to Pittsburgh in 2004 from the University of Michigan. That's when he became senior pastor of Bible Center Church (his grandparents, Ralph and Bernice Groce, founded Bible Center Church in 1956) along with professor at the University of Pittsburgh.

In the years to follow, Bible Center Church would increase its membership, acquire the vacant building at the corner of Bennett Street and N. Homewood Ave., and start the Oasis Project. Today, the Oasis Project includes, but not limited to, TMC Early Learning Center; the popular "Everyday Cafe" sitdown restaurant at 532 N. Homewood Ave.; the Oasis Farm (an urban farm that not only provides fresh produce through a collaborative farm stand from June-October of each year, but also serves as a com-

munity hub for education on urban agriculture for people of all ages); and the "Own Our Own" Business Development Center, which provides classes in a cohort model that nurture and develop aspiring entrepreneurs. Own Our Own also offers co-working space, mailboxes, and ongoing lunch and learn classes to help build the skills of new entrepreneurs at 626 N. Homewood Ave. "These initiatives collectively underscore Bible Center Church’s commitment to fostering econom-

ic, educational, and emotional wellness within the community of Homewood," Cynthia Wallace told the Courier. TMC Early Learning Center is located at the lower level of Bible Center Church, 717 N. Homewood Ave., and is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. The preschool also offers need-based scholarships to assist with tuition costs and accepts Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) scholarships. Seventeen students are currently enrolled, and Cynthia Wallace told the

COURIER CHURCH ANNOUNCEMENTS

MT. LEBANON UNITED METHODIST FISH FRIES

Mt. Lebanon United Methodist Church invites all to its Free Community Fish Fries, on March 7, March 28 and April 18 (April 18 is with communion). Fish Fries are from 4 to 7 p.m. at the church, 3319 W. Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, 15216. Menu includes fish (or substitute) along with sides, beverage and desserts. All events are free to the community with donations appreciated to support missions and outreach. For more information, visit mlumc.org

COURIER CHURCH DIRECTORY

Courier she hopes to enroll a total of 30 children by September. Levy encourages families to explore the opportunities at TMC Early Learning Center highlighting the nurturing and education it provides. “I feel like parents really want their children to be with someone that is nurturing, caring, but also focusing on their education and my teachers provide that," Levy said. "Give us a chance and see what we can provide, because we have a lot of great stuff that we're offering.”

Rev. A. Marie Walker’s Weekly Inspiration

“They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of the Lord, and their and the offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that BEFORE they call, I will ANSWER; and while they are yet speaking, I will HEAR.”

– Isaiah 66:23-24

REV. WALKER SAYS: THE POWER OF PRAYER before we ask God, He will answer and while we are praying God hears. Keep praying.

PASTOR CYNTHIA WALLACE, INSIDE THE MAKER’S CLUBHOUSE EARLY LEARNING CENTER ON N. HOMEWOOD AVENUE.

PAID LOSERS

Tomlin refuses to ‘lose’ just to better the team’s Draft position

When Pittsburgh Steelers former Head Coach Bill Cowher drafted quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with the 11th pick of the 2004 NFL Draft, there were high expectations for the former quarterback out of Miami of Ohio. “Big” Ben Roethlisberger was chosen in the same draft class that produced Phillip Rivers and Eli Manning. Rivers never played in a Super Bowl. Eli Manning and Ben Roethlisberger won two Lombardi’s each. Manning won Super Bowl XLII in 2008 by a score of 17-14 and finished with an 87.3 QBR. Manning also won Super Bowl XLVI in 2012 by a score of 21-17 and finished with a QBR of 103.7. Ben Roethlisberger won Super Bowl XL in 2006 by a score of 21-10. Roethlisberger’s QBR was 22.6. Roethlisberger also won Super Bowl XLIII by a score of 27-23. In that game, he fared better with a QBR of 93.2. Ben Roethlisberger almost single-handedly lost Super Bowl XLV because Packers safety Nick Collins intercepted an ill-advised pass and navigated traffic to the end zone. Pittsburgh eventually lost the game by the score of 31-25 as a result of that costly pick-six. All of the aforementioned games had one common denominator: the teams involved fought to the very end to win. The primary, and oftentimes only demand that the late Al Davis (former owner of the Oakland Raiders) had was: “Just win baby.” Nowadays, the fortunes of some of the

most storied NFL franchises have dramatically changed from “Just win baby” to win at your own risk. Take the example of two recent head coaches of the New England Patriots, Jerod Mayo and Bill Belichick.

In 2024, Jerod Mayo was hired to replace their former coach, Bill Belichick, after Belichick and New England could not agree on a contract following the 2023 season. Belichick allegedly left on his own terms after a dismal 4-13 won-loss record in 2023. Mr. “Belicheat” was under the false impression that he could leave the team for greener pastures. However, the grazing land that he thought was greener pastures turned out to be leaner pastures in the blink of an eye. After all was said and done, he ended up eating a “plate full of pride” with no Tums on the side to help relieve him not of “acid indigestion” but of “ego indigestion.” After negotiating with several NFL teams, Belichick decided to eat some filet of crow and accept the gig of becoming the “King of Chapel Hill.”

In other words, the headmaster of the University of North Carolina football team.

On the other hand, Jerod Mayo was fired for posting the identical 4-13 record in 2024 that Belichick posted in 2023! Did Mayo get canned because someone’s love life may have taken a hit in Miami? Maybe or maybe not. However, there are rumors swirling around the camp that because Mayo went all out to defeat the Buffalo Bills in the 2024 season finale, that untimely and unnecessary victory knocked the Patriots down a rung on the ladder of the NFL 2025 Draft and may have prevented New England from obtaining the first overall pick in 2025.

When the Tennessee Titans lost to the Houston Texans, and the New England Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills in their final game in the 2024 season, the Titans were elevated the right to choose the first-overall pick in the 2025 Draft. Jerod Mayo only lasted one single year as the head coach of the New England Patriots. Was it because of the fact his team did not lay down for the mighty Buffalo Bills? If the Patriots had lost, they would’ve said that Mayo’s team did not compete, or that he purposely laid down to get the first pick. Black coaches continue being attacked by a three-headed dragon. The first head is: damned if they do. The second head is: damned if they don’t. The third head is: damned if they fall betwixt and between. Steel-

ers Head Coach Mike Tomlin is a perfect example of a coach that falls betwixt and between. Tomlin has never had a losing season, so he is considered right in the middle and that is considered average and average just does not cut the mustard in the NFL. There are multiple definitions of negativity attached to the performance of Black coaches. If coaches of color exhibit too much emotion, they are labeled “angry Black men.” If they don’t exhibit enough emotion and focus on discipline, they are labeled cold and indifferent. If they try to lead from the middle of the road, they are often accused of being afraid to take chances as well as being indecisive and intellectually challenged from a football perspective. What criteria must be met for them to

establish credibility?

Let’s go local yokel for a moment. The year 1991 was the final year of the coaching tenure of Head Coach Chuck Noll for the Steelers. Bill Cowher succeeded Noll in 1992. From 1992-1997 Cowher did not have a losing season, mostly using players from the Noll era. However, in 1998 and 1999 the Steelers’ won-loss record was 7-9 and 6-10 and those were the years that Bill Cowher’s draft choices began to have a significant impact. When Cowher was winning, hardly anyone had questioned about him benefitting from the Noll era, did they? From the very beginning of Mike Tomlin’s career as the head coach, his accomplishments have been diluted and blurred by the ghost of Bill Cowher’s mediocrity. Bill Cowher

had three losing seasons, Mike Tomlin so far has none. For three losing seasons, Bill Cowher was positioned very well on the draft board, but Mike Tomlin has not had that luxury. In 2003 the Steelers’ won-loss record was 6-10. That put Bill Cowher in a position to pick Ben Roethlisberger with the 11th overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. That selection turned a Steelers franchise upward when the trajectory of the team was rapidly headed south. I am of the opinion that Mike Tomlin is an Al Davis disciple. Mike T. doesn’t care about draft picks, because he is paid for the Steelers to...”Just win baby.”

MIKE TOMLIN

The expression “in the red” is used to describe a business that has negative earnings. This is in contrast to the phrase “in the black” which refers to businesses that are profitable and financially solvent.

The terms are derived from the color of ink used by accountants to enter the figures in the financial statements. Before the use of computers, accountants recorded income in black ink and expenses in red ink. For example, when the business posted positive earnings, the figure was marked in black. As opposed this, the debits, losses and debts were marked with red.

What Does the Phrase in the Red Mean?

The phrase “in the red” means that business is in debt

and owes money. The red ink signifies financial losses for the business. It means that you have more expenses and bills than the money to pay them.

The color red invokes a sense of urgency that lets business owners know that they should work quickly to get their finances on track.

Depending on how your business is structured and how you receive money, you may be in the red only temporarily. For example, if you have $1200 in cash and have $1700 worth of expenses and bills to pay, you are $500 in the red. Even if you pay using a credit card, you still continue to be in the red because now you owe the credit card company.

New businesses often find themselves temporarily in the red for a period of time until they generate enough revenue to meet their expenses. However, if the business is consistently in the red it can be a concern for business owners as it can scare away creditors and potential business investors

What Does Be in the Black Mean?

The phrase “in the black” has a positive connotation in accounting. It refers to the accounting practice of recording incoming funds in black ink. When a business is in the black, it means that it does not owe any money and is solvent.

The phrase refers to the condition of businesses that have been profitable in their last accounting cycle and have posted a solid business performance. When you show your clients that your business is in black, you’re telling them that the business is making a profit or at least breaking even.

What Is the Difference Between in the Black and in the Red?

The phrases “in the red” and “in the black” are opposites. While “in the red” describes being in debt or losing money, the phrase “in the black” describes being solvent or accumulating money. From an accounting perspective, your income statement shows whether you’re in the red or in the black. Businesses often go through cycles of “being in black” and “in the red”. For example, if a business has had an exceptionally good year, you would be in the black. However, in some scenarios where you may have inherited some money or received money from a sale of an asset, you might be in the black for a short period of time, but not consistently year to year.

On the other hand, a large purchase may put the business “in the red” for a brief period of time. The goal of a business, however, is to minimize deficits and debts. Even when the business does run into these short-term debts, it should be for a brief period of time and there should be a specific plan to get the business “in the black” again.

by ReShonda Tate

Houston Defender

Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett recently set the record straight on CNN, voicing what so many Black women know to be true: we are tired of the mediocrity of White men being rewarded while our excellence is policed.

It was a moment of raw, unfiltered truth—a truth that too many institutions and decision-makers refuse to acknowledge. Black women in America are expected to be exceptional just to receive a fraction of the recognition routinely handed to White men for doing the bare minimum. Mediocrity Is Protected. Excellence Is Policed

Black women are the most educated demographic in the U.S., yet we continue to earn less than our White counterparts, including White women. We hold degrees, break barriers and shatter expectations, yet we are routinely passed over for leadership roles in favor of less qualified candidates. The reason? Structural racism, gender bias and the deeply ingrained protection of White male privilege.

When Black women advocate for ourselves, we are labeled as “intimidating” or “too aggressive.” When we challenge the status quo, we are told we are “angry.”

Meanwhile, White men who demonstrate the same level of assertiveness are

While resilience is a virtue, this mentality is also a trap. It places the burden of systemic inequities on Black women instead of on the institutions that perpetuate them. The exhaustion we feel is not just from working harder—it is from constant-

Black women’s exclusion from leadership and decision-making positions is not accidental—it is systemic. Organizations claim to value diversity and inclusion, but the numbers tell a different story.

praised for their confidence and leadership. This double standard is not just frustrating—it is a systemic problem that actively works against our advancement.

The ‘Twice as Hard’ Mantra Is a Trap For generations, we have been taught to work twice as hard to get half as much.

Let’s be real—managing your money in today’s economy feels like trying to juggle flaming torches while riding a unicycle. Paychecks might be going up, but so are prices, layoffs and financial uncertainty. The latest news in personal finance is a mixed bag—some wins, some losses, and a lot of changes that could affect your wallet. Here’s what you need to know this week. Americans Are Earning More but Spending Less—Why?

In January, personal incomes shot up by 0.9 percent, the biggest jump in a year. But did Americans take that extra cash and go on a spending spree? Nope. Personal spending actually dropped by 0.2 percent. So, what’s going on? A few things:

• Auto sales are down—High interest rates and expensive car prices mean fewer people are financing new vehicles.

• The weather played a role—Harsh winter storms kept shoppers indoors.

• Economic uncertainty—With talk of tariffs, possible job cuts, and still-high inflation, many people are holding onto their money instead of spending freely. This cautious approach isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Keeping your spending in check while padding your savings and investments is a smart move, especially when financial uncertainty is looming.

Inflation Is Forcing Big Life Decisions

A Wells Fargo study found that three out of four Americans are cutting back on spending due to inflation. But it’s not just

about skipping a few takeout meals—people are delaying major life plans.

• Buying a home? Not right now.

• Taking a big vacation? Maybe next year.

• Retiring? Not anytime soon. For most households, essentials like groceries, utilities and rent are eating up a bigger chunk of their budget. Inflation may be slowing down, but prices aren’t dropping back to pre-pandemic levels. The message here? Adapt. Reassess your financial goals, find ways to cut costs, and make sure your money is working for you.

CFPB Drops Capital One Lawsuit—What This Means for Consumers The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which is supposed to protect consumers from shady banking practices, is backing off a lawsuit against Capital One. The case accused Capital One of misleading customers about interest rates on savings accounts.

ly having to prove ourselves in a rigged game.

Tackling Systemic

Biases Black women’s exclusion from leadership and decision-making positions is not accidental—it is systemic. Organizations claim to value diversity and inclusion, but the numbers tell a differ-

start playing more games with fees and rates.

• If Capital One was misrepresenting interest rates, how many other banks are doing the same thing? Bottom line: Always read the fine print, shop around for the best rates, and stay informed. You can’t assume the government will always have your back.

Millennials Are Falling Behind on Retirement—Time to Fix It

Why does this matter?

• Consumer watchdogs fear this signals a rollback in consumer protections, meaning banks and credit card companies could

If you’re a millennial (29 to 44 years old), here’s a wakeup call: 66 percent of working millennials have nothing saved for retirement. That’s a problem. Experts say now’s the time to get serious about building your retirement nest egg. Here’s how:

• Start with your 401(k) or IRA—Even small contributions add up over time.

• Eliminate high-interest debt—Credit card interest will eat your wealth alive.

• Build an emergency fund—If something goes wrong, you won’t have to raid your retirement savings.

• Time is still on your side, but the longer you wait, the harder it gets. Federal Judge Blocks Mass Firings of Federal Workers

ent story. Black women hold only 4 percent of C-suite positions in corporate America. Pay disparities persist, leadership pipelines remain overwhelmingly White and those who challenge the system often find themselves pushed out rather than promoted. The myth of meritocracy collapses when Black women with Ivy League degrees and decades of experience are still overlooked for opportunities given to less qualified White men (can someone say Kamala Harris). Excellence alone won’t save us because the system was never designed to reward us equally in the first place.

What We Must Do

The status quo is unacceptable. If institutions and individuals truly want to see change, it’s time to move beyond empty rhetoric and take real action.

For Black Women:

• Know that your worth isn’t defined by how hard you work in a system that was never built for you.

• Build networks of support and solidarity with other Black women and allies who value and respect

The Trump administration tried to push through a mass firing of probationary federal employees, but a judge in California shut it down. This ruling has some major implications:

• It affects multiple government agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

• It comes right when the student loan repayment application was removed, adding even more financial uncertainty for millions of borrowers.

For government employees, this is temporary relief, but job security in federal roles remains shaky. If you’re a federal worker, now’s the time to update your resume and have a financial backup plan in case things change. Social Security Facing Major Cuts

The Social Security Administration has announced plans to eliminate 7,000 jobs. What does that mean for you?

• Longer wait times for services—If you need to apply for benefits, expect delays.

• More pressure on the system—Fewer workers mean less oversight and potential processing errors.

• If you’re approaching retirement or rely on Social Security, keep a close eye on these changes. You may need alternative sources of income if benefits get disrupted. Credit Freezes Are on the Rise— Should You Do One? With identity theft on the rise, more

Black America braces for impact of Trump’s tariffs

by Stacy M. Brown BlackPressUSA.com

NNPA NEWSWIRE—

Tariffs that took effect on Tuesday, March 4, have imposed a 25 percent levy on imports from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10 percent on Chinese goods. The Trump administration insists the move will protect American industries, but economists and civil rights leaders warn the fallout will be devastating for African Americans and other marginalized communities. Prices on everyday essentials are

expected to rise sharply. The U.S. imports 63 percent of its vegetables and nearly half of its fruits and nuts from Mexico, making grocery costs an immediate concern. Gas prices are also likely to surge as Canada, the country’s largest crude oil supplier, is hit with tariffs. Low-income families, already struggling with inflation, will bear the brunt of these increases.

“For Black and brown people, who statistically spend the most as a percentage of wealth, the impact is going to be severe,” Calvin Boomer, a financial analyst, said.

“This isn’t just about trade policy—it’s about survival for communities already fighting economic disparity.” The auto industry, a major employer of African Americans, is also bracing for disruption. Tariffs could add up to $3,000 to vehicle costs, potentially leading to declining sales and job losses. “We’re looking at a repeat of what happened in 2018 when Trump’s first tariffs led to layoffs,” said Maurice Richardson, an autoworker in Michigan.

“Except this time, it’s going to be worse.”

The NAACP has condemned the tariffs,

warning that they will deepen racial economic disparities. Democratic lawmakers have also spoken out, calling the move reckless and out of touch with working-class struggles. “It’s already expensive to eat healthy where I live,” said Alicia Brown, a mother of two from Chicago’s South Side. “A gallon of milk is already $5. If they start charging more for fresh produce, people are going to have to make tough choices between food and rent.”

by Stacy M. Brown

Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

NNPA NEWSWIRE—

Former Maryland Governor and former Social Security Commissioner Martin O’Malley warned that the Trump-Musk administration’s sweeping cuts to the Social Security Administration’s workforce will lead to major disruptions in benefits for millions of Americans. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has ordered a 50 percent reduction in Social Security’s workforce. The agency, already at its lowest staffing levels in 50 years, announced that it will soon implement large-scale layoffs. “These cuts will inflict a lot of pain on se-

niors and people with disabilities,” O’Malley said in a news conference on Friday. “Social Security is being driven to a total system collapse.”

He said five of SSA’s eight regional commissioners have resigned following the push for deeper reductions. Responding to a question from BlackPressUSA, O’Malley said it’s up to Congress to stop the bleeding. He said, despite handling a record number of beneficiaries, Social Security operates with just 1.2 percent overhead, far below private insurers like Liberty Mutual, which operates at 23 percent. O’Malley said productivity had improved by 6 percent year over year, but the restructuring will erase that

progress. “The Republican House has already reduced staffing at Social Security to a 50-year low. Now co-Presidents Musk and Trump want to cut customer service in half,” he said. O’Malley called the administration’s decision to offer full-year salary buyouts to retirement-eligible employees and $25,000 bonuses to others the biggest waste of Social Security dollars in U.S. history. “The actions being taken by the Trump-Musk administration to gut customer service and drive employees out of this greatly understaffed agency will break Social Security as we have known it for 90 years,” he said. He also raised concerns about data security, not-

ing that sharing Social Security information is a fireable offense. While Trump has said Social Security “won’t be touched,” Musk has defended the cuts by claiming they are necessary to stop “extreme levels of fraud.” However,

Musk has not provided proof for this claim. Rich Couture, spokesman for the American Federation of Government Employees SSA General Committee, said any layoffs will hurt the public and undermine Social Security. “Seniors and people on disability should start putting away what money they can now,” O’Malley said. “Benefit check interruptions are coming soon.”

your contributions.

• Protect your mental health. The fight for equity is important, but so is your well-being.

• Demand better—whether in the workplace, politics, or everyday life. Your excellence deserves recognition without compromise.

For Employers and Institutions:

by Josh Grant

For New Pittsburgh Courier

Social Security programs touch the lives of more than 71 million people.  We work hard to ensure critical benefits and other services are accessible to you.  Consider the start of the new year as an opportunity for you to engage with Social Security online.  This begins with creating your free and secure personal my Social Security account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.  Once you create an account, you can:

• Stop expecting Black women to outperform just to earn a seat at the table.

• Conduct honest audits of your hiring and promotion practices. Identify and eliminate biases that block Black women from advancing.

• Address pay gaps by ensuring Black women are compensated fairly and equitably.

• Invest in leadership pipelines for Black women, and stop treating diversity as a

Americans are freezing their credit. A credit freeze prevents thieves from opening accounts in your name and is one of the best ways to protect yourself.

• It’s free to freeze and unfreeze your credit.

• It doesn’t affect your credit score.

• It blocks unauthorized credit checks.

If you don’t plan to apply for new credit soon, freezing your credit is a smart move. It’s a small step that can prevent a massive headache later.

The financial landscape is shifting fast. Some people are making moves, while others are being forced to adjust. The key is to stay proactive, plan ahead, and make sure your money is working for you.

•

•

• If retirement feels far away, start preparing now.

• If you’re worried about fraud, take steps to protect yourself. Times are uncertain, but those who plan wisely will come out ahead. Take charge of your money and don’t wait for the economy—or the government—to do it for you. (Damon

•                Apply for retirement, spouses, or disability benefits.

•                Apply for Medicare.

•                Check your application status.

·•               Request a replacement Social Security number card. If you do not receive Social Security benefits, you can use your personal my Social Security account to:

•                Get personalized retirement benefit estimates.

•                Get your Social Security Statement.

•                Get estimates

performative checkbox.

For Allies:

for spouse’s benefits.

•                Get instant proof that you do not receive benefits.

If you receive benefits, you can use your personal my Social Security account to:

•                 Change your address (Social Security benefits only).

•                 Set up or change your direct deposit information (Social Security benefits only).

•                 Instantly get proof of benefits.

·•                Print your SSA-1099. Your personal my So -

• Speak up when you see inequity. Silence is complicity.

• Challenge systems that reward mediocrity while punishing Black women’s excellence.

• Use your privilege to advocate for change in the rooms where Black women are often excluded.

Black women are tired—tired of carrying

cial Security account has a secure Message Center.  You can choose to receive the annual cost-of-living adjustments and the Medicare income-related monthly adjustment amount online.  Unless you opt-out of receiving notices by mail that are available online, you will receive both mailed and online notices.

(Josh Grant is Social Security District Manager in Pittsburgh, PA)

institutions on our backs, tired of being told we must prove ourselves again and again, tired of systems that celebrate mediocrity while sidelining brilliance. If real change is going to happen, it will require more than just acknowledgment—it will demand accountability and action. Until then, we will continue to speak out, stand tall, and demand the respect we have more than earned.

ECONOMIC TARIFFS. IT’S SOMETHING THAT CANADA’S OUTGOING PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU SAID ON MARCH 4 WAS A “DUMB THING TO DO” BY U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP.

POWER BREAKFAST SPEAKER—Barãta Bey, President, African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pa., with February Power Breakfast Speaker Olu Omodunbi, Ph.D., Chief Economist, Huntington Private Bank. (Photo by J.L. Martello)

Guest Editorial

Trump

is making

America weaker at home and abroad

In only one month in office, President Donald Trump is rapidly making America weaker at home and abroad.

Instead of his promised new “golden age,” Trump is creating chaos and making America weaker through a blitz of legally questionable executive orders, mass firing of federal workers, freeze of trillions in federal grants and loans and inflammatory rhetoric towards America’s allies.

Legal experts say the administration’s aggressive actions have approached the red line of openly flouting court orders that could lead to a constitutional crisis.

Trump’s indiscriminate mass firing of federal workers undermines essential government functions, threatens a key check on executive power and will make America less safe.

Thousands of the more than 220,000 probationary employees working for the federal government around the U.S. have received termination notices in recent days as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to dramatically reduce the federal workforce.

The Internal Revenue Service began laying off more than 6,000 employees, and the CIA is moving to dismiss an unspecified number of officers working on recruiting, according to former officials, in what could be one of the largest mass firings in the agency’s history, reports the New York Times.

The problem is not just the volume of federal employees fired at once, but how it is being done.

CNN reports that: “A developing Trump administration plan for deep staff cuts and drastic changes at the Federal Emergency Management Agency is raising alarm among some state officials and even Republican lawmakers, who worry that it will weaken responses to future disasters.”

Trump’s second term “has been defined by an onslaught of executive actions that have caused, some say by design, disruption and even chaos in widespread quarters of American society,” says U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper who decided last Thursday he could not grant a motion from unions representing the workers to temporarily block the layoffs. He found that their complaint amounted to an employment dispute and must follow a different process outlined in federal employment law.

“The mass terminations have caused chaos in the federal government. The Trump administration struggled to rescind the firings of employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration and employees working on the bird flu epidemic at the U.S. Department of Agriculture,” reports the Guardian.

Trump and his aides have spurred racial divisions at home by attacking Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives. Conservatives have successfully pushed myths about DEI. Perhaps the biggest lie is that it calls for the hiring and promotion of Black Americans over more qualified White men.

Contrary to popular belief, the biggest beneficiaries of DEI initiatives have been White women. White men who are from rural areas, disabled or LGBTQ have also benefitted from DEI.

Trump’s actions will hurt American businesses that benefit from diversity through an increased talent pool of workers and managers, more engaged employees and increased innovation.

The administration’s approach to immigration has also gone beyond its stated campaign goal of deporting criminals to deporting immigrants who have not committed crimes.

Last week, the administration cut protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitians in the United States, putting them on track to be targeted for deportation this summer.

“The Haitians affected by the decision had been living in the United States under Temporary Protected Status, which is intended to help people in the United States who cannot return safely and immediately to their countries because of a natural disaster or an armed conflict. More than 500,000 Haitians in the United States are eligible for the status,” the New York Times reports.

The administration has also ended temporary protections against deportation for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan immigrants living in the United States.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a decision to end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for about 348,000 Venezuelan immigrants.

The decision means they could face deportation and the loss of work permits in April. The rest of the roughly 600,000 Venezuelans in the program could lose the legal status and associated benefits in September.

Trump is making the world less safe.

Since Trump took office Jan. 20 he has threatened to devastate the Canadian economy with tariffs and take it over as the United States’ 51st state.

Trump has also threatened Mexico with high tariffs, to take Greenland from Denmark and take over the canal from Panama. He has sided with Russia despite their invasion of Ukraine, and openly talked about removing Palestinians from Gaza. Some political observers and foreign policy experts believe Trump’s policies alienate allies and help Russia and China. What is clear is that Trump’s reckless policies are creating uncertainty at home and abroad.

“Companies report widespread concerns about the impact of federal government policies, ranging from spending cuts to tariffs and geopolitical developments,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence, reports the Associated Press. “Sales are reportedly being hit by the uncertainty caused by the changing political landscape, and prices are rising amid tariff-related price hikes from suppliers.”

A separate report said U.S. consumers are also preparing for higher inflation because of potential tariffs. They’re broadly expecting prices to be 4.3 percent higher 12 months from now, which is a big jump from last month’s forecast of 3.3 percent inflation, according to a survey by the University of Michigan. Instead of Making America Great Again, Trump is making the country weaker and the world a more dangerous place to live.

(Reprinted from the Philadelphia Tribune)

Joy brought us joy!

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—If we can’t defeat fascism, sexism or racism in our country, who are we to tell anybody else what to do? Colin Kaepernick warned us when he chose not to stand for the National Anthem that is worshiped by the very people who voted for the man who got us into this evil backward tailspin—and now he’s even against those who voted for him, those who didn’t vote at all, those who didn’t want any woman telling them what to do—even though Kamala ran circles around the orange man who couldn’t touch her in intelligence or accomplishments. Even those who made the mistake of voting for him are sorry now because their groceries didn’t go down, the gasoline didn’t get cheaper, the hatred didn’t lessen, voting didn’t get easier—and Trump just got worse—so what are we going to do about it?

We can follow Kaepernick’s lead and kneel or stand up and sing the Black National Anthem at all of our events.  We can celebrate our own people—many of whom lost their jobs or lives while fighting for the right to speak out as Joy Ann Reid did. We must celebrate our heroes and sheroes. Kneel when you sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” if you choose, and don’t forget to honor our fathers, uncles, brothers, sisters, spouses, cousins, friends who tried their best to make Ameri-

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—It was February 14. But what nearly 400 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employees got that day were not Valentines. They were pink slips. The firings touched critical roles in EPA offices across the country, including dozens of scientists at the agency’s Chicago office.

The American people did not vote for toxic air and poisoned water. But that will be the consequence as Donald Trump and Elon Musk move not only to dismantle the programs that keep our families healthy and safe but to fire, recklessly, the dedicated civil servants who have devoted their careers to doing the same.

That same wave of civil servant layoffs ensnared about 3,400 US Forest Service employees and roughly 1,000 employees of the National Park Service (NPS). You might be struggling to make sense of a decision to institute big cuts at an agency tasked with managing forests and preventing and fighting wildfires immediately following some of the most destructive wildfires this country’s ever seen. But an examination of these mass firings also shows that senselessness and sloppiness—and utter inefficiency—are hallmarks of Trump and Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Further illustrating that sloppiness: across agencies, some of the most egregious terminations of vital workers had to be rescinded days later.

Imagine vacationing with your family at one of America’s beloved national parks and getting stuck in a bathroom for hours because something is wrong with the lock but the park doesn’t have a locksmith.

Nate Vince, Yosemite National Park’s locksmith, was also fired on Valentine’s Day. He explained in a post on Instagram that he was just three weeks shy of the end of his one-year probationary period, after apprenticing for four years under the park’s previous locksmith. He also noted Yosemite is the size of Rhode Island with “more locks than a small city,” for everything from a federal court to administrative buildings,

by Marc Morial

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—

“I’m deeply saddened that many of the songs I recorded 50 years ago about civil rights, equal rights, poverty, hunger, and suffering in our society are still relevant in 2020. I hope that people will hear these songs in a new way as they connect to their lives today, to this pandemic, to the growing economic disparities, to Black Lives Matter, to police brutality, to activism versus apathy, and the need for each of us to see it and address it.”

—Roberta Flack

Dr. E.

ca great for all of us. Don’t forget the men of Red Tails and the men and women of color who still serve in many ways for an ungrateful nation. We don’t have to look far to see ungratefulness still exists. We’re not recipients of MAGA. Again?  It never was great for us. Four Star General Charles Brown, 21st Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was dismissed without cause recently. General Colin Powell was the first Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The haters said “enough” when it came to another Black military Chief!  So many of our people still serve our country admirably without respect. Now we have a man who never knew what it’s like to serve his country and he has the nerve to insult a friendly country’s leader while defending a communist leader!

We can sit around and moan and groan, but that doesn’t make things any better for us or for those who need us most to stand up against racists and fascists. The lives of so many government workers, farmers

and others (and I’m sure many of them voted for Trump) but are now suffering. Still, they don’t deserve what’s happening to them. People with disabilities, children, seniors, the poor without jobs don’t deserve what is happening. What are the wealthy doing who became wealthy at the expense of poor people who worked for them to make them wealthy?  Now they barely have enough to provide for their own families.  How do wealthy people who never paid their workers fairly feel? What are they doing to help those workers? Those of us who also have little, but share what we have with those who have nothing, must continue to stand up and fight for what’s right even when nobody else does. Let’s continue the BUYCOTT—meaning do business only with those who respect our human rights by standing up for the rights of all. No matter how much we like brands where the companies making them ignore their responsibility for giving back a part of their profits or hiring our people—drop them! You don’t have to take disrespect and still support the evildoers.

My dear Mother taught her children that “God don’t like ugly.” It’s ugly to always be the taker—and never the giver. Now that you know, as Joe Madison always asked, “What are you going to do about it?”

gun safes, and more. “Without a locksmith I’m deeply concerned for the safety and security of the park and people in it,” Vince said. “The people that fired me don’t know who I am, or what I do. They simply don’t understand this park and how big and complex it is.”

Park Ranger Alex Wild, also fired on Valentines Day, was the only emergency medical technician at Devils Postpile National Monument, a rock formation and waterfall along California’s Pacific Crest Trail. And the layoffs hit other popular sites like Grand Canyon National Park, which prompted the Association of National Park Rangers to warn of slower rescue efforts, as well as reduced programs and more litter. Following layoffs that gutted the team managing rentals within Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, visitors received notice their reservations had been indefinitely canceled.”

The list of examples goes on. And again, this is not what the American people voted for. Three quarters of Americans see the National Park Service in a positive light and 88 percent of Americans (including 85 percent of Republicans) want National Park wildlife better protected.

The financial wrongheadedness of the Trump-Musk slash-andburn project also jumps out. Their supposed efforts to save taxpayers money by laying off thousands of hardworking civil servants and cutting food aid, science, education, medical research and more are going to end up costing Americans more out of their own pockets. In some cases, the programs and agencies being gutted will cost taxpayers far more in economic growth and direct government revenue than the amount of the “cuts.”

“Killing Me Softly” and “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” But her defiant performances addressing war, racism, sexism, LGBTQ rights, and other social issues led Rev. Jesse Jackson—whose Operation Breadbasket she supported—to call her  “socially relevant and politically unafraid.”

For 2025 and the past few years, the National Parks Services budget hovers at just over $3 billion per year. In 2023 alone, that budget (a relatively high $3.75 billion that year) supported 415,000 jobs and $55.6 billion in economic output. To put it another way, for every $1 invested, American taxpayers see a nearly $15 boost to our national economy. This is part-in-parcel with the sloppiness—and also dishonesty— with which DOGE is operating. The total personnel costs for the federal civilian workforce are only 4.4 percent of our federal budget. Foreign aid—which has been at the top of the headlines since Trump and Musk decided to decimate USAID—has only ranged between 0.7 percent and 1.4 percent of the budget since 2001.  As they gut key agencies and the federal workforce, what are some examples of where this administration is focusing our tax dollars? Well, there is the $200 million international ad campaign by the Homeland Security Department, personally requested by Trump, “thanking” the president for his immigration and border policies. And, of course, there are the massive tax cuts for America’s very wealthiest that are really the crown jewel of the Trump-Musk agenda.

The great John Lewis, who would have turned 85 this past Friday, wrote “When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.” That act of democracy must not happen only in election years. It is up to all of us to hold power accountable, keep sounding the alarm, and keep speaking out for justice for all. Because, as Rep. Lewis also reminded us, “A democracy cannot thrive where power remains unchecked and justice is reserved for a select few.” (Ben Jealous is the Executive Director of the Sierra Club and a Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.)

tunity to produce her own records —one of the first Black women ever to do so—she used the pseudonym “Rubina Flake”—a glamorous “concert artiste” alter ego she’d dreamed up during her childhood.

“Rubina helped Roberta endure the indignities faced by gifted Black children in the South, as when she’d sing “Carry Me Back To Old Virginny” for contest judges in hotels where she wasn’t allowed to stay the night,” NPR music critic Ann Flake wrote.

John. H. Sengstacke Editor & Publisher Emeritus (1912-1997) Founded 1910

to the Publisher

Allison Palm Office Manager Ashley Johnson Sales Director Rob Taylor Jr. Managing Editor

From the time she was a 4-year-old girl in Black Mountain, N.C., Roberta Flack dreamed of having her own piano.  But her parents couldn’t afford one. When she was 9 and her family was living in Arlington, Va., her father spied a beat-up old upright piano in a junkyard. He brought it home and painted it green. That green piano—later immortalized in Flack’s children’s book, The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music—launched the child prodigy into one of the most remarkable and influential careers in American music history.

Flack, who died this week at the age of 88, was perhaps best known for her chart-topping romantic ballads,

The first track on her debut album, First Take, released at the height of the Vietnam War in 1969, asked was the protest ballad, “Compared To What.”  On that same album—recorded before the Stonewall Riots—she turned the campy musical theater number  “Ballad of the Sad Young Men” into a gay rights anthem.

“There is no way to fully emphasize the political risks Roberta Flack may have faced as an R&B singer in the late ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, performing and discussing songs advocating human rights for gay men and women.” music critic Eric Weisbard wrote. She was one of the many guest performers on the feminist children’s entertainment project Free to Be … You and Me, performing “When We Grow Up” with Michael Jackson on the 1974 ABC television special. Her commitment to creating opportunities for children—especially Black girls—was rooted in her own challenges. When she had the oppor-

Even against those odds, she earned a full music scholarship to Howard University when she was just 15, graduating at 19. She later founded the Roberta Flack School of Music, to give students in The Bronx, New York, the opportunity to receive free music lessons.

She was a pioneer of the blend of jazz, blues, soul, and pop music that became known as “Quiet Storm,” but she continued to defy categorization until ALS, sometimes called “Lou Gehrig’s disease,” cruelly robbed her of her voice in the last few years. Her artistic, activist, and philanthropic legacy is endless, but best summed-up by her advice in Green Piano: “Find your own ‘green piano’ and practice relentlessly until you find your voice, and a way to put that beautiful music into the world.”

Mississippi 1950

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—The realities of our nation are harsh, but I truly hope young people, particularly those of color, are now watching and taking note. I understand the unfortunate realities we face. Despite the historic importance of the past presidential election, the reality of apathy is very real and dangerous.

We have a nation filled with young people of color who are simply turned off and disinterested in politics. Understandably, toxic and polarized politics can overwhelmingly affect people who simply want little or no part of it. According to data from the University of Florida’s Election Lab, nearly 90 million Americans eligible to vote in the 2024 presidential general election decided to stay home. Roughly 36 percent of the eligible voting-age population did not vote, which is greater than the number of people who voted for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.

With apathy comes consequences. Making up the 90 million eligible voters may be White federal workers who felt that Project 2025 was not a threat to them but ultimately lost their jobs due to

David W. Marshall

Commentary

the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) firings. Many of the 90 million also consist of people of color who maintain a deep sense of hopelessness due to decades of disenfranchisement. With concerns about the country’s future, young people should take a renewed interest in the nation’s current events.

The race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris was historic for several reasons. The re-election of Trump represents an unusual political comeback for a man who lost the last presidential election to Joe Biden. Despite the warnings surrounding Project 2025, along with the real threat of fascism, as a candidate, Trump distracted the majority of voters into ignoring the warnings and returning a convicted felon and authoritarian back into the White House.

The election was historic as it pitted a convicted felon against a former prosecutor, and the American voters picked the felon. When given the choice, America chose corruption and the type of discrimination that removes the racial and economic checks and balances that were previously in place to keep people of color protected. The checks and balances associated with the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act were implemented for specific reasons. We live in a society that will always be based on race and class; therefore, there is always the need for federal oversight in protecting the rights and safety of people of color. Remove the protection and then hate and discrimination flourish.

The controversy surrounding the 1876 presidential election led to the Compromise of 1877. To secure the presidency, Rutherford B. Hayes agreed to withdraw federal troops from the South, which were stationed there to protect African American voting rights. Federal troops were a means of protection and a system of checks and balances. The troop removal led to the end of Reconstruction, allowed the return of White Southern political power, and led to the decline of African American political power and the unfortunate rise of Jim Crow laws. The pushback eventually came in the form of federal laws such as the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as means of racial protection. Now, counter-pushback is occurring, and those two critical laws are being attacked. In 2013, the Supreme Court gutted section five of the Voting Rights Act. In a 5-4 vote, the court struck down the heart of the Voting Rights Act, which required specific states and localities with a history of discrimination against minority voters to get changes in voting laws to be cleared by the federal government before they went into effect. The removal of section five emboldened lawmakers in Southern states, previously covered by law, to enact new voter ID laws, polling place closures, and other voter suppression restrictions. Fast forward to 2025, and the latest wave of executive orders is removing protections for people of color under the Civil Rights Act.

By requiring the government and the private sector to eliminate DEI safeguards, the door is wide open to a new wave of discrimination. The Trump administration is systematically bringing us back to a rigidly controlled society in which it is legal to do anything to hold back Blacks and to keep them in line. What type of future is in line for Black and brown teens and young adults living in 2025 who are unfamiliar with the segregation of 1950s Mississippi? Are they prepared to live in a society where talented Blacks are constantly told “Blacks Need Not Apply,” and it is supported by the federal government?

The Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) is an annual conference with a long-running partnership with the Army Recruiting Command. The Baltimore event has historically been a critical venue for the military to recruit highly qualified Black engineers and scientists. As a result of President Trump’s fight against diversity, equity, and inclusion, the Army and other military service branches are no longer seeking recruits from the conference. The rejection of highly qualified applicants of color falls in line with the president’s plan to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion not only in the military but throughout all sections of the public and private sectors. In doing so, he is taking the nation back to a 1950s version of segregated Mississippi. It was a period of racial hatred where it was permissible to do anything to hold Blacks back and keep them in line.  I hope that young people of color do not get caught up in the battle of emotions when personally hit by heightened hate and discrimination. Staying focused on this administration’s real threat to their long-term professional futures and how to push back effectively is necessary. Young men and women of color are now faced with a growing obstacle that didn’t exist a year ago.

(David W. Marshall is the founder of the faith-based organization TRB: The Reconciled Body and author of the book God Bless Our Divided America.)

Combating anti-Christian bias or a ‘woke-right’ reaction?

Last month, at the National Prayer Breakfast, President Donald Trump stated that the US must “bring God back” in order to overcome division and foster stronger communities. The next day, Trump signed an executive order establishing the White House Faith Office.

Previous presidents created a similar office.

When George W. Bush ran for president in 2000, he vowed to usher in a new era of compassionate conservatism. One of Bush’s first acts as president was to sign an executive order creating the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

The OFBCI’s mission was to help faithbased and community organizations increase their capacity to provide federally funded social services to local residents.

The American Civil Liberties Union argued that President Bush violated the constitution by using tax dollars to fund religion. They also suggested that faithbased initiatives were a GOP scheme to increase the Republican Party’s appeal to working-class voters.

At the 2009 National Prayer Breakfast, President Barack Obama stated, “The particular faith that motivates each of us can promote a greater good for all of us.” Obama rebranded the OFBCI as the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Obama assembled an advisory council comprised of religious and secular leaders, as well as specialists from several fields and diverse backgrounds. Obama’s OFBNP emphasizes social service outreach and aid to the disadvantaged.

This time, the ACLU argued that the Obama administration inherited fundamentally defective faith-based policies from the Bush administration, but the Obama administration denied that it had inherited detrimental policies.

Obama’s approval of Bush’s faith-based initiative revealed that it was a nonpartisan effort to assist religious organizations that were already serving the community, rather than a GOP ploy for votes. As long as faith-based organizations followed federal guidelines, they were considered just another non-profit organization that provided social services; therefore, the government was not funding “religion” like the ACLU implied.

The ACLU took an extreme position on the separation of church and state, which many mainstream Christian organizations interpreted as anti-Christian.

When Donald Trump became president

J. Pharoah Doss Check It Out

in 2016, he did not nominate a director for the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Instead, Trump formed the Center for Religion and Opportunity Initiatives, which acted as the Health and Human Services Department’s contact with religious communities and grassroots organizations while simultaneously pushing for religious liberty across all HHS programs.

President Joe Biden entered the White House during a global pandemic and after the worst rioting in the United States since the 1960s, when police killed George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, in May 2020. Biden promptly announced he would relaunch the White House Office of FaithBased and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Biden expanded the OFBNP’s scope.

According to a press release, the White House announced, “The Partnerships Office’s initial work will include collaborating with civil society to address the COVID-19 pandemic and boost economic recovery, combat systemic racism, increase opportunity and mobility for historically disadvantaged communities, and strengthen pluralism.”

Faith-based initiatives evolved from a compassionate conservative approach to reduce poverty and substance abuse to a progressive effort to reduce systemic racism and injustices. MAGA Republicans believed Biden’s Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships overemphasized social justice issues, making it overly “woke.”

Trump was reelected president in 2024, and he established the White House Faith Office to replace Biden’s White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. According to Trump’s directive, “The executive branch wants faith-based entities … to the fullest extent permitted by law, to compete on a level playing field for grants, contracts, and other federal funding opportunities.”

That sounds like Bush.

“The efforts of faith-based entities,” Trump’s directive stated. “Are essential to strengthening families and revitalizing

communities, and the federal government welcomes opportunities to partner with such organizations through innovative, measurable, and outcome-driven initiatives.”

That sounds like Obama.

Biden’s emphasis on tackling systemic racism was missing, but Trump’s executive order required the new Faith Office to prioritize combating anti-Semitism, anti-Christianity, and other forms of religious intolerance. Trump’s executive order also stated that the Faith Office will work with the attorney general, who was authorized to form a Task Force to Eliminate Anti-Christian Bias.

Because Christianity is America’s largest religion, Trump detractors dismissed the idea of anti-Christian bias and denounced Trump’s new Task Force to Eliminate Anti-Christian Bias as an unneeded pander to his MAGA base. However, Christian organizations argue that the task force is overdue because the Biden administration discriminated against them.

That sounds like a “woke-right” reaction. For the past decade, the term “woke” has been used to define the radical left. The word simply means being aware of societal inequalities, inequities, and injustices. Far-left “woke” politics aimed to provide government solutions for victims of social injustices. However, “woke” activists frequently overstated the problems, played the victim card, and promoted inequities that did not exist in order to demand a federal or state response. On his first day in office, Biden signed an executive order titled Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.

The Christian right saw that “woke” was more than just a state of mind; it was also a set of tactics, and conservatives who adopted far-left methods to achieve a political end are the “woke right.” MAGA Christians, according to critics of Trump’s Task Force to End Anti-Christian Bias, exaggerate their experiences with discrimination to play the role of victims. These critics have a valid point, and their concern is warranted, as those who portray themselves as victims often seek out an enemy to blame and subsequently punish.

However, skeptics who say there is no anti-Christian bias because Christianity is the most popular faith in America are mistaken. The task force will uncover a hidden truth, which is that the majority of anti-Christian bias exists between rival Christian denominations.

Worship of the written word Part 1

Unlearning whiteness involves a deep internal journey of evaluating how you uphold the institution of White supremacy. For Black people, one issue that often creates tension in our community is the “worship of the written word.” This shows up in various ways, specifically through the belief that unless you have correct documentation, grammar, and strong writing skills, you won’t be taken seriously, especially by White people. There is an expectation that everything has to be done following a certain writing style, like APA. As a writer, this is something I have dealt with. I had to recognize that I had a “white gaze” in my writing. For me, this came from Black people overly criticizing my writing, especially in my twenties and thirties, as a young Black professional, new to the workforce. I didn’t have the language for it then, but now I understand that they were overly focusing on only the White readers who may read or judge it.

I was constantly gaslighted about this.

People would text me when I made a post on social media and mention that I forgot a comma, period or misspelled two words. I was often told that I couldn’t write how I talk or express everything I feel. “Fawn, you can’t write things like this; it will scare White people,” or “No one will take you

seriously,” or “You sound so radical and angry.” I remember thinking, “OK, thanks for the feedback, but what about what I said?” This is why I stopped writing for a few years. The anxiety of worrying about grammar and writing things “perfectly” became a lot. I was always conscious about how people would view my grammar, not what I was writing. It affected my ability to imagine and be creative. I stopped writing altogether for a few years. It wasn’t until I started to unlearn White supremacy that I started writing again. Despite this, it still affects my writing, as unlearning is a lifelong process.

Worship of the written word also connects to how the Bible is utilized to pacify Black people and stop us from resisting—a tactic that has been employed for centuries. In 2020, during the protests following the murder of ancestor George Floyd, 47 was photographed holding a Bible. This act

was not done to promote peace; rather, it was a tactic passed down to him from his ancestors.

Slave masters often used Christianity and the Bible to justify the murder, rape, and kidnapping of Black people. The Bible was manipulated to justify the actions of our oppressors and scare us into submission. Constantly invoking verses like “turn the other cheek,” etc. This has continued today, being used in similar ways and serving as a way to divide us from the Black LGBTQIA+ community.

While I recognize that many Black people adopted Christianity, this was not a choice. When we were kidnapped, we practiced various religions and forms of African spirituality, such as hoodoo. To survive, some assimilated into Christianity.

The effects of this still linger today. Black people are natural storytellers; however, the influence of the white gaze can, at times, hinder our creative imagination. Moreover, the overemphasis on Christianity has resulted in us resisting our spirituality, which is filled with a love for nature, plants, and water. Practices like yoga, hoodoo, meditation, breathwork, and gardening are not “White people” activities or “woo woo”; they are traditions passed down from our ancestors.

It appears that the leadership of MSNBC has taken the Trump Kool Aide resulting in its move to either purge and or realign people of color as it separates from NBC. The firing of Joy Reid and Katie Phang while consolidating three of the remaining Black hosts into a panel presentation in the time slot of Joy Reid and the addition of an hour, apparently are supposed to soften the blow as to what is really taking place. So if one stops watching the time slot that Joy Reid was in, then you help MSNBC move toward eliminating the three Blacks on the panel filling Joy’s time slot. Perhaps, the most important thing we can do for Joy Reid is to help her get a Podcast going just as Don Lemon did and encourage sponsorship support so that those we spend money with will want to spend money with such a program for Joy. We can not afford to waste time arguing with these racist elements of a racist system. We must instead use our money, time, and talents to finance alternatives that serve both our collective and those who share our views and circumstances. But notice how the new independent MSNBC is handling peo-

ple of color. Jose Diaz is fired while a Latina woman is moved to prime time. Sounds familiar. Sounds like what just happened to the Joy Reid program and its replacement with the three-person panel of color. It’s interesting that Joy was making three million a year compared to Rachel’s reduced salary of $25 million for the next five years. Clearly, Rachel could afford to speak out and her doing so in support of her friend and colleague, Joy Reid, is appreciated. Perhaps someone should suggest that Joy Reid bring her business and followers to the Black Press which already airs a daily radio program with tremendous potential if the right people talk with each other. Let us not forget that the Black press is still one of the most “Trusted Messengers” in this country, and one of the oldest, lest we forget we

are celebrating 198 years of service. With this Administration in the White House and its Agents of Destruction on the loose, this is truly the time to circle our wagons of information and options starting with the “SBC” (selective buying campaign) aimed at withholding our dollars from those corporations that are canceling DEI and other elements of fairness and equality based on ability and not color. We have seen nations engage in efforts to remove whole groups of people based on religion or ethnicity. We have called such efforts by others “Ethnic Cleansing”. Now we see the beginning of targeting people in this great nation for removing not only from this country with deportations but also from positions of visibility and authority such as the firing of the Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, apparently just because of his color. Yes, the firing at MSNBC clearly comes from the same cup the Administration is serving in its campaign against DEI and Affirmative Action. Just like the Trump Administration’s agenda, it looks like “Ethnic Cleansing”. (Dr. John E. Warren is Publisher, San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper)

LEGAL ADVERTISING Legal Notices

Fifth Avenue, Suite 200 Bldg., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15219

Estate of PATRICIA A. WALSH, Deceased, late of Oakmont, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Any person or persons having a claim against or indebted to this decedent present same to Virginia Delaney, Trustee c/o Claire Johnson Saenz, Esq., Strassburger McKenna Gutnick & Gefsky, 444 Liberty Avenue, Suite 2200, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Estate of STEPHEN H. FULWYLIE, Deceased, of Pittsburgh (Penn Hills), PA, No. 25-1071 Stephen H. Fulwylie, Jr., Adm., 440 Wilbur Avenue, Turtle Creek, PA 15145 or to Jennifer Roller Chontos, Chontos & Chontos, P.C. 561 Beulah Road, Turtle Creek, PA 15145

Estate of SHIRLEY ANNE BRAZEN, Deceased of McKees Rocks, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Estate No. 02-25-00912, Donald E. Brazen, Jr., Executor, 10811 W. 129th Street, Overland Park, KS 66213 or to TODD A. FULLER, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC., 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017

Estate of JOHN E. LOVE, Deceased of Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania Estate No. 02-25-00960, Joseph F. Love, Executor, 360 Jefferson Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15228 or to AUBREY H. GLOVER, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC., 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017

Estate of LORRAINE MUDD Case No. 2174 of 2024 . Nikkia Mudd appointed Administratrix by Order dated March 28, 2024. Peter B. Lewis, Neighborhood Legal Services, 928 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15222, Counsel.

Estate of NATALIE PAVLOVICH, Deceased of the city of Pittsburgh, Estate No. 2204 of 2024, Alexandar D. Malich, Extr., 133 Aberdeen Drive, Cranberry Twp, PA 16066 or to Christina E. McKaveney-Malkin, Esq., Malkin Law Offices, PO Box 353, Ingomar, PA 15127

Estate of MR. BRIAN DOUGLAS SUKITCH

A/K/A BRIAN SUKITCH, 242 Overlook Court, Coraopolis, PA 15108, Estate No. 02-25-00339, Mr. William S. Sukitch, Executor, c/o Max C. Feldman, Esquire and the Law office of Max C. Feldman, 1322 Fifth Avenue, Coraopolis, PA 15108

PUBLIC NOTICE

ALLEGHENY COUNTY

SANITARY AUTHORITY

The Professional Services Committee of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority will hold a special meeting for general purposes on Thursday, March 13, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. prevailing time, in the Trefz Board Room at its offices located at 3300 Preble Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15233. Official action on the Committee’s recommendations will take place at a regular meeting of the Board of Directors at a later date. The public may view the meeting via livestream by visiting www.alcosan.org.

TOWNSHIP OF WILKINS PUBLIC NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT PROPOSED ORDINANCE NUMBER 1134

The Wilkins Township Board of Commissioners will consider adoption of the following Ordinance at a public meeting to be held on the 31st day of March 2025 at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building, 110 Peffer Road, Wilkins Township, Pennsylvania. The complete text of the Ordinance is on file and may be inspected in the Office of the Township Secretary at the aforesaid Municipal Building during normal business hours.

The title and a summary of the ordinance is as follows.

PROPOSED ORDINANCE #1134

TITLE AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWNSHIP OF WILKINS, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AMENDING THE CODIFIED BOOK OF ORDINANCES, CHAPTER 310, PROPERTY MAINTENANCE, ARTICLE II, OCCUPANCY PERMIT REQUIREMENTS, SECTION 310-6, TO ADD PARAGRAPH 310-6 A(3), REQUIRING COMPLIANCE WITH THIS CHAPTER PRIOR TO THE RELEASE OF A NO LIEN LETTER. SUMMARY

The Ordinance amends the Property Maintenance chapter to require that,

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT & BUDGET

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Separate and sealed Bid Proposals will be received electronically starting on Monday, March 3, 2025 for:

2025-IFB-068 Homewood Tree Planting 2025-IFB-066 Larimer Tree Planting

Information on solicitations is available on the City of Pittsburgh website: http://purchasing.pittsburghpa.gov

Bid proposals are requested on behalf of the City of Pittsburgh. All bids must be submitted via the above website and all required documents must be provided or the bid proposal may be considered non-responsive.

The contractor will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity requirements for Federally Assisted construction contracts.

The contractor must assure that employees and applicants for employment are not discriminated against because of their race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Attention is called to Executive Order 11246, to Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, 12 U.S.C. 1701U, and to the Section 3 Clause and Regulations set forth in 24 CFR, Part 135.

The Contractor will be required to comply with the following laws, rules and regulations:

All provisions of US Executive Order 11246 of September 24, 1965, as amended by US Executive Order 11375 and as supplemented in US Department of Labor Regulations (41 CFR, Part 60), and of the rules, regulations, and relevant orders of the US Secretary of Labor.

Contractor shall comply with all applicable standards, orders, or requirements issued of the Clean Air Act (42 USC 1857 et. seq.), Section 508 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC 1368), Executive Order 11738, and Environmental Protection Agency regulations (40 CFR, Part 15).

Contractor shall comply with the Davis-Bacon Act the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. 276a to 276a-7) as supplemented by Department of Labor regulations (29 CFR part 5).

Procedures for compliance to these acts shall be as follows:

All specifications for construction contracts and subcontracts will contain the prevailing wage rates (as enclosed in this bid package) as determined by the Secretary of Labor in accordance with the Davis-Bacon Act, as amended (40 U.S.C. 276-a to 276-C-5) and provision that overtime compensation will be paid in accordance with the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act Regulations (29 CFR, Parts 5 and 1926). The contract provisions shall require that these standards be met.

Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action to Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity (Executive Order 11246):

Bidder’s attention is called to the “Equal Opportunity Clause” and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Specifications” set forth in 41 CFR Public Contracts and Property Management Part 60-4.3 Equal Opportunity Clauses.

Goals for minority participation: 18%

Goals for female participation: 7%

These goals are applicable to all construction work (whether or not Federal or Federally-Assisted) performed in the “covered area.”

As used in this notice, and in the contract resulting from this solicitation, the “covered area” is Pittsburgh SMSA (Allegheny, Washington, Beaver and Westmoreland counties).

The contractor shall comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1988, as amended, Section 109 of the Community Development Act of 1974, with Executive Order 11625 (Minority Business Enterprise) and Executive Order 12138 (Women’s Business Enterprise).

The Proposers will be required to submit the package of certifications included with the contract documents relating to Equal Employment Opportunity.

Vendors submitting responses on federally funded projects must register on SAM.gov and provide proof of registration.

The City of Pittsburgh reserves the right to withhold the award of contract for a period of sixty (60) calendar days after the opening of bids.

The City of Pittsburgh reserves the right to reject any or all Proposals.

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Bid 1137 – Access Control & Security Lock Down System –Homewood Brushton Center

A mandatory pre-bid meeting and site visitation will be held on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. Meet at the front entrance to Homewood Brushton Center, 701 N. Homewood Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15208

Due date: 2:00 P.M. Prevailing Time on Thursday, March 20, 2025

Any bid or proposals received after this deadline will be considered as a “late bid” and will be returned unopened to the offerer. Proposals may require Bid Bonds, Performance Bonds, Payment Bonds, and Surety as dictated by the specifications. No bidder may withdraw his bid or proposal for a period of ninety (90) days after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids.

The Board of Trustees reserves the right to reject any and all bids.

The Community College of Allegheny County is an Affirmative Action/ Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and encourages bids from Minority/Disadvantaged owned businesses. For more information, contact Michael Cvetic at mcvetic@ccac.edu.

Community College of Allegheny County Purchasing Department 800 Allegheny Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15233

PORT AUTHORITY OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY D.B.A. PRT

Electronic Proposals will be received online at PRT’s Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness.portauthority.org).

Proposals/bid submittals will be due 11:00 AM on March 12, 2025, and will be read at 11:15 AM., the same day, through your web browser via Microsoft Teams video conferencing, for the following:

Electronic Proposal - Ebusiness website (http://ebusiness.portauthority.org)

OFFICIAL ADVERTISEMENT

THE BOARD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION of the SCHOOL DISTRICT OF PITTSBURGH

Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance Lobby, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on March 11, 2025, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for:

Pittsburgh Various Locations Site Lighting Replacement Electrical Prime Pittsburgh Various Locations Emergency Generator Replacement Set 1 General, Electrical, and Asbestos Primes

Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on February 17, 2025, 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.

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

Sealed proposals shall be deposited at the Administration Building, Bellefield Entrance Lobby, 341 South Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa., 15213, on March 25, 2025, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for:

Roosevelt Early Childhood Center Finish Floor Replacement and Miscellaneous Work Plumbing Prime

Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on March 3, 2025, 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.

To join the bid opening through Microsoft Teams meeting on your computer, mobile app or room device

Meeting ID: 277 831 955 734

Passcode: Ba3MH3CM

Or call in (audio only)

412-927-0245

Conference ID: 468 503 194#

No bidder may withdraw a submitted Proposal for a period of 75 days after the scheduled time for opening of the sealed bids. A Pre-Bid Conference will be held on February 25, 2025, through your web browser via Microsoft Teams video conferencing. Attendance at this meeting is not mandatory but is strongly encouraged.

Join on your computer, mobile app or room device

Meeting ID: 264 413 058 306

Passcode: Uy7fg3d3

Or call in (audio only)

412-927-0245

Phone Conference ID: 282 742 585#

Questions regarding any of the above bids will not be entertained by the PRT within five (5) business days of the scheduled bid opening. These contracts may be subject to a financial assistance contract between Port Authority of Allegheny County d.b.a. PRT and the United States Department of Transportation. The Contractor will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity laws and regulations. Contractor is responsible for expenses related to acquiring a performance bond and insurance where applicable. All items are to be FOB delivered unless otherwise specified. Costs for delivery, bond, and insurance shall be included in bidder’s proposal pricing. Port Authority of Allegheny County d.b.a. PRT hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively insure that in regard to any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, disadvantaged business enterprise will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, or national origin in consideration for an award.

The Board of PRT reserves the right to reject any or all bids.

NOTICE TO BIDDERS

The Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County (SEA) and the Stadium Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (SA) will receive sealed bids for Gold 1 Garage (G1G), West General Robinson Street Garage (WGRSG), North Shore Garage (NSG) and Tribute to Children (TTC) 2025 Concrete and Joint Repairs (trade package) as identified below. The contract for this work will be with the SA for G1G and WGRSG and with the SEA for the NSG and TTC. Inquiries regarding the bidding should be made to the SEA, 171 10th St, 2nd Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, Attention: Hillary Frisbie - E-mail: procurement@pgh-sea.com. 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: North Shore

Bid Package Name: Concrete Repairs for Garages and TTC Bid Package Available: Tuesday | March 4, 2025

Approximate Value: $300,000

Time/Date/Location for Pre-Bid Meeting: Friday | March 7, 2025 @ 11:00am North Shore Garage 20 E General Robinson Street Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Time/Date/Location for Bid: Tuesday | March 18, 2025 @ 2:00pm

SEA Admin Offices 171 10th Street 2nd Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222

LEGAL ADVERTISING

Bids/Proposals

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR PROFESSIONAL ARCHITECTURAL AND ENGINEERING SERVICES

RFP #600-13-25

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) hereby requests proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Professional Architectural and Engineering Services

The documents will be available no later than February 26, 2025, and signed, sealed proposals will be accepted until 10:00 a.m. on March 18, 2025. The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh will only accept physical proposals dropped off in person from 8:00 AM until the closing time of 10:00 a.m. on March 18, 2025, in the lobby of One Stop Shop at 412 Boulevard of the Allies. Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Proposals may uploaded to the Authority’s online submission site, the link is accessible via the HACP website and within the RFP. Sealed proposals may still be mailed via USPS at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 412 Boulevard of the Allies, 6th Floor - Procurement, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. Parties or individuals interested in responding may download a copy of the Solicitation from the Business Opportunities page of www.HACP.org. Questions or inquires should be directed to:

Mr. Brandon Havranek, Associate Director of Procurement/ Contracting Officer Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh 412 Boulevard of the Allies 6th Floor - Procurement Department Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-456-2890

A pre-submission meeting will be held via Zoom meeting; on March 10, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. Please see the meeting information below:

Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 886 3359 1385 Passcode: 912351 +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.

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

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Public Notice

PUBLIC NOTICE:

The Westmoreland Non-Profit Housing Corp. (WNPHC) is requesting Qualification / Development Proposals from qualified and experienced For-Profit and Non-Profit Developers to redesign/reprogram/redevelop - The First Commonwealth Bank and PNC Bank buildings located at 111-125 South Main Street, Greensburg, Pennsylvania 15601. The project is anticipated to be developed and funded through public/private partnerships. Interested respondents may obtain, at no cost, the Request for Qualifications / Proposals – Documents from the WCHA-Website located at www.wchaonline.com. In addition, an electronic (PDF) File copy can be provided by contact Mr. Erik Spiegel – COO/Director of A & E Services at eriks@wchaonline. com or by phone 724-832-7248 – Ext. 3056 or Mr. Ed Primm – Director of Development Services at eprimm@wchaonline.com or by phone 724-832-7248 Ext. 3015. Interested respondents are required to respond by proposal submission (satisfying the requirements of the RFQ-invitation) on or before May 1, 2025 @ 11:00 A.M.

A Pre-Proposal Introduction Meeting and Building Tours will occur on March 12, 2025 – 10:00 A.M. starting within the PNC Bank Building, located at 125 South Main Street, Greensburg, PA 15601.

Westmoreland County Housing Authority, Michael L. Washowich, CEO / Contracting Officer

SOFTWARE ENGINEER

PRINCIPAL SR.

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. seeks a Software Engineer Principal Sr. in Pittsburgh, PA, with the ability to telecommute with appropriate telecommuting systems for up to three days per week, with a minimum of two days per week in the office. Participate in all aspects of PNC’s Corporate and Institutional Banking’s Systems Engineering Group activities. Specific duties include: (i) work with different stake holders in the project to understand the need collaboratively and lead the team to deliver the project with quality; (ii) develop the integrations solutions in an optimized way by understanding the entire workflow and the upstream and downstream systems thoroughly; (iii) implement and adhere full project lifecycle including analysis, design, development, testing, implementation, monitoring, support and enhancement; (iv) analyze the business and software requirements to design and implement the REST based Application Programming Interface (API) and Enterprise applications which satisfy all the needs; (v) implement the business rules and orchestration effectively with multiple integrations to support and satisfy business needs using real time Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Event Driven Architecture (EDA); (vi) document and maintain all the technical specifications of the API’s and other applications meta data; and (vii) support testing team for end-end functional and performance testing from the technical perspective and other bug fixes.

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Applications, CIS, MIS, Computer Science, Information Technology, or Engineering plus 8 years of experience developing integration solutions, SOA based webservices, and Business services on Oracle Service Bus is required. Must have experience with: (i) developing integration solutions by analyzing requirements, system flow, data usage and work processes by following Software development life cycle; (ii) developing REST based web services using Java; (iii) developing web services using Java and either JMS Adapter or MQ Adapter; (iv) creating the design, specification, and support document for each application; (v) maintaining source code using version control; (vi) creating and automating unit test cases in SOAPUI for REST webservices; (vii) deploying applications in WebLogic server and updating task status in JIRA; (viii) performing production support after Go-live; (ix) using SQL to perform support and debugging of issues; and (x) 5 years of experience working with Java, J2EE, Spring, and REST to develop technical solutions.

40 hours/week, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Interested individuals apply online at www.pnc.com using keyword R182455. 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.

VASCULAR NEUROLOGIST

University of Pittsburgh Physicians located at U. S. Steel Tower, 57th Floor, 600 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, seeks a Vascular Neurologist (multiple openings) to diagnose and treat patients with acute and chronic neurological conditions, including epilepsy, movement disorders, multiple sclerosis, neuromuscular diseases, persistent headaches, seizure disorders, stroke and other neurological symptoms and disorders; complete weekly outpatient clinic duties for general and epilepsy patients; perform physical exams, order diagnostic tests, interpret the results, order appropriate interventions, therapies, medications, and other treatment modalities, and establish preventative health practices for patients; responsible for collecting, recording, and maintaining details of his patients’ histories, physical examinations, diagnostic test results, assessments, management plans and treatment outcomes; clinical duties will include inpatient stroke consultations and outpatient stroke clinic at UPMC Presbyterian, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh PA 15213, UPMC Mercy, 1400 Locust Street, Pittsburgh PA 15219, and UPMC Shadyside, 5230 Centre Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15232. Travel to worksites within 10 miles. Requires a Medical Degree or its equivalent or its foreign equivalent, must have completed a residency in Neurology and a fellowship in Vascular Neurology, must be board certified or eligible for board certification in Neurology and Vascular Neurology, and must have a valid, unrestricted Pennsylvania medical license. Apply by following these steps; visit http://careers.upmc.com and enter 250000HM in the “Search Keyword/Job ID” field and click Go. EOE.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Help Wanted

SOFTWARE ENGINEER LEAD (MULTIPLE OPENINGS)

The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. has multiple openings for Software Engineer Lead in Pittsburgh, PA. Participate in all aspects of PNC’s C&IB’s Systems Engineering Group activities. Position allows for the ability to work from home with appropriate telecommuting systems for up to one day per week, with a minimum of four days per week in the office. Specific duties include: (i) leading the technical design and development of cross-functional, multi-platform Payment application systems using Global Pay Plus 5.0 and 4.6, custom enhancements and integration solutions; (ii) participating in activities related to both core payments processing and ancillary initiatives all directly tied to the Payments Engine platform; (iii) aligning business strategy with software solutions; (iv) executing complex projects/ initiatives including Technology Architecture, Design, Development, Testing, Documentation and Release Management; (v) analyzing technical feasibility through proof of concepts; (vi) performing design and code reviews, guiding best practice; (vii) translating business requirements into technical requirements and solutions by planning, developing, and refining ‘to-be’ architectures; (viii) providing technical guidance and support to colleagues and solution development; and (ix) working directly with the scrum teams in a JAVA/Vendor technology environment utilizing AGILE methodology. Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Applications, CIS, MIS, or Computer Science plus 3 years of experience in software development requiring the use of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) in or for the financial services industry is required. Must have experience with: (i) Finastra’s Global Plus Payments software 4.6 and 5.0; (ii) Payments (Swift, Fed, CHIPS, Real-Time Payments); (iii) planning, design, development, testing and release management and implementation with server technologies WebSphere application server, WebSphere Extreme Scale and Message Queueing, and Enterprise-wide REST/API applications; (iv) designing and developing scalable, resilient, and agile application integrations using database concepts and testing; (v) distributing computing technologies including SOA; (vi) planning and executing release plan and guiding team to implement monthly releases; (vii) implementing the automation lifecycle to reduce manual intervention in the release process from development, testing and production environment using Urban Code deployment tool; and (viii) monitoring application using tools Dynatrace and Oracle Enterprise Manager to provide solutions.

40 hours/week, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Interested individuals apply online at www.pnc.com using keyword R182421. 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.

ENDOCRINOLOGIST

University of Pittsburgh Physicians located at U. S. Steel Tower, 57th Floor, 600 Grant Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, seeks an Endocrinologist to diagnose and treat hormone imbalances and problems by helping to restore the normal balance of hormones in the body, treat disorders of the endocrine system, including hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, diabetes, disorders of menopause, PMS, andropause, pituitary disorders such as growth hormone deficiency, and adrenal disorders such as Cushing’s disease or Addison’s disease at UPMC Mercy, 1400 Locust Street, Pittsburgh PA 15219, UPMC McKeesport, 1500 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh PA 15132, and UPMC Outpatient Center, 1907 Lebanon Church Road, Suite 203, Homestead PA 15120. Ability to work from home as needed. Travel to worksites within 25 miles. Requires a Medical degree, its equivalent or its foreign equivalent, must have completed an Internal Medicine residency and an Endocrinology fellowship, and must have a valid unrestricted Pennsylvania medical license. Apply by following these steps; visit http://careers.upmc.com and enter 250000HN in the “Search Keyword/Job ID” field and click Go. EOE.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Help Wanted

DRUG & ALCOHOL COMPLIANCE COORDINATOR

Pittsburgh Regional Transit is seeking a Drug & Alcohol Compliance Coordinator to support Port Authority of Allegheny County d/b/a Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT)’s Drug Alcohol Program Manager with implementing the federally mandated Drug & Alcohol Compliance Program. This employee will serve as the company’s back-up to the Designated Employer Representative (DER).

Essential Functions:

• Supports the activities of FTA & FMCSA Drug and Alcohol Compliance Program which includes but is not limited to:

o Participate in the development and administration of drug and alcohol testing agreements.

o Reports all results, including refusals to test, to supervisors.

o Conduct drug and alcohol awareness training for all employees and Supervisor Drug and Alcohol Training.

o Responsible for comprehensive knowledge of regulations, such as 49 CFR parts 40, 655, and 382 DOT CFT part 40. Maintains awareness of federal regulations and guidelines related to drug and alcohol testing. Revises PRT’s Drug and Alcohol policy and procedures to comply with all regulatory changes/ revisions. Assures that current and legal information pertaining to drug and alcohol is disseminated to responsible parties.

o Scheduling Random and Follow-up Testing.

o Completing DOT Drug and Alcohol verifications.

o Participate in the RF process for contract services for drug and alcohol testing in including collection sites, testing laboratories, Medical Review Officer (MRO0, and Substance Abuse Professional (SAP).

Job requirements include:

• BA/BS degree in Business Administration, Human Resources Management, Psychology, Social Work or related field with Behavioral or Medical Science from an accredited school. Experience may be substituted for the education on a year-for-year basis.

• Minimum of one (1) year of experience in Department of Transportation (DOT) drug and alcohol compliance auditor, or FMCSA compliance specialist, or Medical Review Officer Assistant/DOT drug and alcohol collector.

• Effective and professional communication skills.

• Classroom instruction and training experience.

• Demonstrated ability in the use of Microsoft Windows, Excel, and Word.

• Rotating on call availability 24-hours-a-day.

Preferred attributes:

• Minimum of two (2) years performing as a Designated Employer Representative.

• Knowledge and understanding of Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations.

• Professional Certification for Drug collector, Breath Alcohol Technician, Designated Employer Representative, or Medical Review Officer Assistant.

• Experience using Drugpak software or FMCSA Clearinghouse database.

We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Interested candidates should forward a cover letter (with salary requirements) and resume to:

Amy Giammanco Employment Department 345 Sixth Avenue, 3rd Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527 AGiammanco@RidePRT.org EOE

BOROUGH OF BELLEVUE SUMMER LABORERS

The Borough of Bellevue is accepting applications for Summer Laborers to serve in its Department of Public Works. For more information and application, go to bellevuepa.org and select the “More” tab for employment opportunities. Applications will be accepted until the positions are filled.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

COORDINATOR

Pittsburgh Regional Transit is seeking a Production/Traffic Coordinator to provide support to management in production and traffic services for Port Authority of Allegheny County d/b/a Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT). Coordinates schedules of work and projects, including production coordination of advertising clients with Director of Marketing & Creative Services. Negotiates cost of free-lance and vendor-supplied services within established budgets. Manages print and broadcast production projects through completion with printers, studios, etc. Coordinates projects and promotions on time and on budget.

Essential Functions: Coordinates schedules of work and projects, including production coordination of advertising clients with Director of Marketing & Creative Services.

• Negotiates cost of free-lance and vendor-supplied services, i.e., photography, illustrations, etc. within established budgets.

• Manages print and broadcast production projects through completion with printers, studios, etc.

• Independently coordinates projects and/or promotions, as assigned by the director.

Job requirements include:

• High school diploma or GED.

• Bachelor’s degree in advertising, communications, marketing or related field from an accredited college or university. Related experience may be substituted for education on a year-for-year basis.

• Minimum of three (3) years’ experience in advertising production/traffic, communications, and marketing, including fluency with Quark, InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop. No certifications or licenses required.

• Production in department is Mac based therefore incumbent must be fluent in Mac programs as well as Quark, InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop. Adobe suite knowledge is also required.

• Demonstrated ability in the use of Windows and Microsoft Word.

• Must be organized.

• Effective and professional communications skills. Effective interpersonal skills.

Preferred attributes:

• Experience in utilizing the Internet.

• Experience in retouching is helpful.

• Extensive knowledge of PRT various modes of transportation and services

We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefits package. Interested candidates should forward a cover letter (with salary requirements) and resume to:

Holly A. Jenkins Employment Department 345 Sixth Avenue, 3rd Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527

HJenkins@RidePRT.org

EOE

OFFICIAL COURT REPORTER

- The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania is accepting applications for the position of an Official Court Reporter with an official duty station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Our Court Reporters maintain the courtroom record and produce transcripts of court proceedings according to strict standards. Highly accurate records and transcripts of court proceedings are critical to the administration of justice. Preference will be given to those applicants that are certified realtime. Visit the court’s website at https:// www.pawd.uscourts.gov/employment for complete employment information and how to apply through the court’s online application tracking system. Open until filled. Preference will be given to those applications received by March 17, 2025 Incomplete applications will not be considered. The United States District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania, is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values diversity in the workplace.

SONNY BOY