4.26.23 NPC

by Rob Taylor Jr.

Staff Writer

Courier

One of the “Special K’s,” Khari or Khadijah, will be Pittsburgh’s next District 9 representative in City Council.

But which “K” will it be?

Khari Mosley, who has rubbed elbows with those in Pittsburgh’s political landscape for decades but has never held a public elected office seat, or Khadijah Harris, who also has never held a public elected office seat, but is known throughout Homewood and beyond for her community and social advocacy?

Mosley and Harris are both Democrats. The state’s Primary Election is May 16. The winner of the Primary will easily win the General Election in November and be enshrined as a new member of City Council come early 2024.

Early in the year, Mosley had all the momentum. He

announced his candidacy on Jan. 5, flanked by a wealth of supporters, and Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor, Ed Gainey, has already come out and proclaimed that Pittsburgh’s next District 9 City Council representative would be Mosley. Mayor Gainey spoke those words even before it became publicly known and confirmed that longtime District 9 representative, Rev. Ricky Burgess, who is Black, would not be running for re-election.

“I am running to restore faith in the idea that government can get the people’s decision done, improve the quality of life in every neighborhood, and inspire our citizens to believe that Pittsburgh’s best days are yet to come. If we dare to be bold, think big and rise up to meet this moment, there is so much that we can do,” Mosley

by Rob Taylor Jr.

Courier Staff Writer

Three Pittsburgh School Board members are not running for re-election this year—Pamela Harbin, Kevin Carter and Bill Gallagher.

But Devon Taliaferro is serious about keeping her seat on the board. She’s running for re-election.

“I’m just crazy enough to believe that our students deserve better,” Taliaferro, a Black woman, said during a Pittsburgh School Board Candidates Forum at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, March 30.

Ron Sofo, who has spent more than 30 years of experience as a school superintendent, school counselor, high school and middle school principal, is challenging Taliaferro for the District 2 seat. There are nine members that comprise the Pittsburgh

School Board. District 2 represents Highland Park, Morningside, Lawrenceville, Strip District, Polish Hill, Troy Hill, Spring Garden, East Allegheny and parts of Spring Hill and Stanton Heights.

In 2019, Taliaferro won the District 2 seat over a number of candidates due to her community connections, passion for students and experience working with students in Pittsburgh Public Schools. She worked as a program coordinator for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Pittsburgh and ran mentoring programs for students at Brashear High School.

“I’ve seen experiences and interactions (at Brashear) that, if we were more intentional about creating educational spaces where students feel

Harry Belafonte, beloved singer, actor, activist, dies at 96

by Stacy M. Brown

NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Renowned singer, actor, producer, and legendary civil rights trailblazer, Harry Belafonte, died on Tuesday, April 25, at the age of 96.

His publicist confirmed that the beloved icon died of congestive heart failure at his home in New York.

In addition to his children Adrienne Belafonte Biesemeyer, Shari Belafonte, Gina Belafonte, David Belafonte and two stepchildren Sarah Frank and Lindsey Frank, Belafonte leaves behind eight grandchildren: Rachel Blue Biesemeyer, Brian Biesemeyer, Maria Belafonte McCray, Sarafina Belafonte, Amadeus Belafonte, Mateo Frank, Olive Scanga, and Zoe Frank.

Known globally for both his artistic ingenuity and humanitarian ideals, Belafonte became an early, vocal supporter of the Civil Rights Movement, a confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and financial backer of countless historic political and social causes and events, including the anti-Apartheid Movement, equal rights for women, juvenile justice, climate change and the decolonization of Africa.

He was one of the organizers of the 1963 March on Washington and led a delegation of Hollywood luminaries including his best friend Sidney Poitier, as well as Paul Newman, Sammy Davis Jr, Marlon Brando, Rita Moreno, James Baldwin, Burt Lancaster, Joanne Woodward, Diahann Carrol, Bob Dylan, Mahalia Jackson, Peter, Paul and Mary and Joan Baez, Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis and Tony Curtis.

The following is from Belafonte’s bio on the HistoryMakers:

Born to immigrant parents in Harlem on March 1, 1927, Harry Belafonte spent much of his youth in his mother’s home country of Jamaica.

Though difficult, life in Jamaica was full of rich cultural experiences that influenced Belafonte’s art.

At the beginning of World War II, Belafonte returned to Harlem with his mother and brother. He had trouble integrating into the new environment and later dropped out of high school to join the U.S.

Navy.

After Belafonte was honorably discharged, he went back to New York, where he worked odd jobs until two free tickets to the American Negro Theatre (A.N.T.) changed his life.

Belafonte auditioned for the A.N.T. and earned his first leading role in Juno and the Paycock.

In 1953, he made his film debut opposite Dorothy Dandridge in Bright Road. He won a Tony in 1954 for his performance in Almanac.

At the same time, Be -

lafonte developed his singing talents, having parlayed a series of nightclub performances into a record contract.

His third album, Calypso, topped the charts for thirty-one consecutive weeks and was the first record to sell more than 1 million copies.

Belafonte also secured a television outlet with his hour-long special, Tonight with Belafonte, which won him an Emmy.

He became the first African American TV producer and his company, HarBel, went on to produce one Emmy nominee after another.

In the early 1950s, Belafonte developed a strong relationship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Belafonte worked tirelessly to mobilize artists in support of the

civil rights movement.

In 1985, he again rallied the global artistic community to raise awareness of the famines, wars and droughts plaguing many African nations. USA for Africa raised more than $60 million for this cause with “We Are the World” and Hands Across America.

A longtime anti-apartheid activist, Belafonte hosted former South African President Nelson Mandela on his triumphant visit to the United States.

Belafonte maintained his commitment to service as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.

“The lifelong commitment, courage, global leadership, and legacy of The Honorable Harry Belafonte will always be cherished and remembered by billions of people throughout the world,” said NNPA President and CEO, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. “Belafonte was a gifted, talented and transformative freedom fighter for all of humanity. The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) salutes the memory of Harry Belafonte and recommits to the struggle for freedom, justice and equality that Belafonte so boldly epitomized and embodied.”

• APRIL 26

1886— The “mother of the Blues” Gertrude “Ma” Rainey is born Gertrude Pridgett in Columbus, Ga. She began her career touring with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. She was the first person to sing the Blues in minstrel shows. Rainey also coached, then young Blues singer Bessie Smith who would become more famous and celebrated than Rainer. Rainey died Dec. 22, 1939.

1994— The first all race elections take place in then White ruled South Africa. The elections would bring an end to 300 years of White minority rule, known as apartheid, in the African nation as well as bring about the election of Nelson Mandela as the country’s first Black and democratically elected president. Mandela had spent 27 years in prison because of his leadership of the African National Congress which had led the struggle against apartheid.

• APRIL 27

1903—W.E.B. DuBois’ “The Soul of Black Folks” is published. The book did much to outline and summarize progressive African American thought and opposition to the accommodation policies of Booker T. Washington—then the nation’s foremost Black leader. DuBois argued that “the problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line” and labeled Washington’s program as one of “industrial education, conciliation of the South, and submission and silence as to civil and political rights.” A collection of DuBois’ papers are currently being placed online by the University of Massachusetts.

1903—Maggie Lena Walker becomes the first Black woman to head a bank in America. In fact, she was the first woman of any color to head a bank when she was named president of the St. Luke Bank and Trust Company in Richmond, Va. Walker was an outstanding businesswoman who took over Richmond’s Order of St. Luke when it was nearly broke and rapidly losing membership. Within a few years the Order owned a bank, a newspaper, a printing press and a three-story department store despite the active opposition of Richmond’s White business community. Walker also helped found the Lilly Black Party in part as a slap at the segregated “Lilly White” political parties of the day. One of her mottos was “Don’t get angry, get busy.” She died Dec. 15, 1934.

• APRIL 28

1967— The World Boxing Association and the New York State Athletic Commission withdraw recognition of Muhammad Ali as world heavyweight boxing champion because of his opposition to the war in Vietnam and his resulting refusal to serve in the U.S. military. One of his famous phrases during the controversial period was, “I ain’t got no quarrel with those Vietcong.” In addition to being stripped of his title and license to box, Ali was sentenced to five years in prison for refusing to be inducted into the military. However, four years later the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction and Ali was allowed to box again.

• APRIL 29

1992— This was the first day of the Los Angeles riots which were sparked when a nearly all White jury acquitted four White cops in the brutal beating of Black motorist Rodney King even though the beating had been caught on tape. Two of the cops were later convicted on federal civil rights charges. The riots left at least 50 people dead, nearly 1,000 injuries and an estimated $1 billion in property damage.

• APRIL 30

711 AD—Tarik the Moor invades Spain with force of 7,000 troops, routs the Visigoths and establishes Moor domination of Spain. While there remains

some dispute over Tarik’s race, the weight of the evidence is strong that he was a Black man. He was described in accounts of the time as having “brown skin and wooly hair.” His full name was Tarik al Gibral. The famed Rock of Gibraltar is named in his honor.

1828—Shaka, the great Zulu king and military leader, is killed. His innovative military strategies kept European imperialism at bay for years as he established Zulu dominance in large parts of Southern Africa. The Zulu nation grew to at least 250,000 with an army of over 40,000. But Shaka became increasingly dictatorial. Opposition to his dictatorship combined with jealousy led his two half-brothers to assassinate him on this day in 1828.

• MAY 1

1866—The two-day Memphis, Tenn., race riots , one of the most savage events immediately following the civil war, begins. When it was over, former Confederate soldiers, angered by the loss of the Civil War and the new status for Blacks, had killed 46 Blacks and two of their White supporters, as well as raped five Black women and torched over 90 homes, schools and churches. In support of the rebel soldiers, local police arrested hundreds of Blacks and not the Whites who were rioting. However, the savage nature of the rioting in Memphis (and a similar disturbance in New Orleans) prompted Congress to pass radical Reconstruction to aid Blacks, a Civil Rights bill, and the 14th Amendment to the Constitution guaranteeing citizenship and equal protection to former slaves.

1950— Brilliant poet Gwendolyn Brooks , the first African-American to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1950 for her second collection, “Annie Allen,” is born on this day in Topeka, Kan. At 17, she started submitting her work to “Lights and Shadows,” the poetry column of the Chicago Defender, an African American newspaper. Brooks published her first book of poetry, “A Street in Bronzeville” (1945) with Harper and Row, after strong show of support to the publisher from author Richard Wright. Brooks died on Dec. 3, 2000 in Chicago, Ill. 1967— The “Long Hot Summer” begins. The period between May 1 and Oct. 1, 1967 witnessed the most dramatic and destructive series of Black urban disturbances in American history. Major riots took place in 40 American cities. There were also lesser disturbances in 100 smaller towns and cities. Many felt the riots were sparked by a collective sense of frustrated hopes and a new urban generation less willing to adopt peaceful means for change.

• MAY 2

1844— Master inventor Elijah McCoy is born in Colchester, Ontario, Canada. He would become the holder of over 50 patents— most were mechanical devices, which greatly improved engines, locomotives and steamships. The superiority of his inventions led to the phrase “the real McCoy” coming to mean the mark of excellent and authenticity. McCoy was born to slaves who escaped America for a free life in Canada. His parents became successful and sent him to study engineering in Scotland when he was only 16. After the end of U.S. slavery, he settled in Ypsilanti, Mich., and began his remarkable career.

1870— One of the most unsung religious leaders in American history, William Seymour , was born on this day in Centerville, La. Seymour became pastor of the Azusa Street Mission in Los Angeles and the catalyst for the worldwide Pentecostal movement. He not only rejected racial barriers in the church in favor of “Unity in Christ,” but he is also credited with eliminating many of the restrictions placed on women in the church. He died of a heart attack in 1922.

Devon Taliaferro seeks re-election to Pittsburgh School Board

TALIAFERRO FROM A1

safe, honored and supported, I think it would reduce a lot of the need to suspend children,” Taliaferro told the New Pittsburgh Courier exclusively. “I had students on my caseload that were suspended all the time for simple things that could have been addressed if somebody would have just stepped out in the hallway and had a conversation with them and understood what the issues were. Sometimes I was that person in the building, although (technically) it wasn’t my job. We have to invest in the staff to be able to support our students. We still disproportionately suspend Black, brown and disabled students, and to me, that is a problem.”

Taliaferro said that when it comes to “community schools,” there should be “54,” instead of the nine that PPS classifies as community schools. Those schools offer programs which focus on academics, enrichment, health and social supports, youth and community development, and family engagement.

“Every building should have the resources they need for students to be successful,” Taliaferro said at the forum, which was sponsored by Great Schools Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network (PINN),

Casa San José and 412 Justice. She said it’s imperative PPS “works with our state legislators to get and obtain state and federal funding. It’s all hands on deck, we need the City of Pittsburgh, the county and state to step in to support our students’ needs.”

Pittsburgh Public Schools is facing declining enrollment, aging school buildings and, in many instances, a quantifiable disparity between Black and White student achievement. Charter schools are publicly-funded, tuition-free schools just like public schools, but they operate separately from the public school district in which they reside. Pittsburgh has its share of charter schools, and Taliaferro supports charter schools because they are funded publicly. But, “I think if we have well-resourced school buildings that have support systems, if we provide the quality-level education that our students need to thrive, then I think there is not a need to invest in or have additional charter schools,”

Taliaferro said. “To me, we are trying to fund two systems of public education; the first one should be the priority.”

And when it comes to the declining enrollment, Taliaferro said much of it comes from the lack of affordable housing in

THE COURIER ISN’T JUST A NEWSPAPER. IT’S BLACK HISTORY.

Pittsburgh. She said she continuously pushes the city and private developers who ask for tax abatements from PPS for more affordable housing and increased career opportunities for residents.

Come May 16, the date of Pa.’s Primary Election, there’s only one contender for Districts 4, 6 and 8.

Yael Silk is the candidate for District 4, replacing Harbin; Emma Yourd is running unopposed for District 6, replacing Gal-

lagher; and Dwayne Barker is the lone candidate for District 8, replacing Carter. Both Carter and Barker are African American. But District 2 is another story. While Taliaferro has support from Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, the Young Democrats of Allegheny County and the Steel City Stonewall Democrats, Sofo has support from Black Women For a Better Education and the Allegheny County Demo-

cratic Committee.

Taliaferro told the Courier she’s helped to bridge the gap between the school board and the community by providing clear communication to parents, while having an open ear to their concerns.

“I have been invested in this work, not only in my professional career, but also in serving over the past four years (as board member) and have been able to establish the relationships and partner-

ships we need to support our students and their outcomes,” Taliaferro, 42, told the Courier exclusively. “As someone who is a strong public education advocate, we need leaders in the seat who are going to want to invest in whatever it will take to give students that public education experience that they deserve. Someone who wants to see public education thrive in this city and not want to tear it down.”

Which ‘K’ will take over for Burgess? Khari, or Khadijah?

said during his speech on Jan. 5.

Mosley is the political director for 1 Hood Media, and has worked on campaigns for former state House representative Jake Wheatley (who is now Mayor Gainey’s Chief of Staff), and former Mayor Bill Peduto. Mosley has served as the Democratic Committee chair for the 22nd Ward, Pa. state director for BlueGreen Alliance, and director of Green Economy Initiatives for GTECH Strategies.

Mosley, known for his love for Hip-Hop as HipHop, in 2023, celebrates 50 years in existence, said running for City Council was a “life-changing decision.” But he said that in all the years he’s been a part of or following Pitts-

burgh politics, “the people are at the center of the political agenda.”

Mosley added: “The overriding question in my mind was, what are we willing to do to meet this moment? Are we content with what we’ve done so far? Have we done enough already? Is our work done? Or are we ready to continue to do the work we’ve started…a focus on holistic public safety, resilient infrastructure, affordable housing, fair wages, climate protection, food security, equity, inclusion and other key policy areas. This is a question I had to ask myself...I realized that part of finishing the work we started was me to step up and do my part.”

Khadijah Harris wants to do her part in bettering the life and times of those in the East End, many

of its neighborhoods District 9 encompasses. The Homewood resident runs her own financial services business, and she’s been in the corporate fundraising/community development world for more than 25 years. She formerly was a senior executive at the nonprofit Community Health Services, now based in Oakland.

Harris earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from Cheyney University and an Associate of Science Degree in Child Development from the University of Pittsburgh.

The next District 9 representative on Council will be under a microscope. City Council members across the city have varying issues they have to deal with in their respective districts, but no other district has the

unique mix of perceived gentrification in neighborhoods like East Liberty, crime problems, a diversity of ethnicities, a lack of affordable housing, all with some neighborhoods being classified as low-income.

District 9 includes popular Black areas like Homewood, East Hills, Larimer and Lincoln-Lemington, along with East Liberty, North Point Breeze, Friendship and Garfield.

Reverend Burgess had his share of supporters and detractors over his 15-plus years as the District 9 Councilman. But it’s also safe to say that Mosley or Harris, whomever wins the Primary, will have supporters and detractors, as well. At the end of the day, though, it’s about doing the best job you can for your constit-

uents. In an interview with WESA-FM (90.5), Harris said she was the right person for the City Council job because she’s a “leader that understands the needs of the communities and to be the voice of the people. I will never put profit over people. I believe that I am the right person because I grew up in the 9th district and I understand the needs of the communities.”

WESA asked the same question to Mosley. Mosley replied: “District 9 needs a City Council committed to enacting policy that expands affordable

housing, empowers neighborhoods in the planning process, and invests in locally grown small businesses. Equitable and sustainable neighborhood development can improve our overall quality of life and rebuild the communities most in need. We can be the model for cities across this country with an equitable approach that preserves the profound and unique character of neighborhoods and does so without succumbing to gentrification and the erasure of the characteristics that define us.”

The Pirates are sizzling...First Place in division

Pirates rebuilding and Steelers just building. No kiddin’, Sherlock, you telling me that is like giving a cadaver a COVID-19 vaccine, you dig. If you don’t dig, figure it out later.

As I pen this column, the record of the Pittsburgh Pirates is 16-7 and they are leading the NL Central by a full game over the Milwaukee Brewers. No one, not even yours truly, the eternal optimist Aubrey Bruce, thought that could happen. We are nearing the twilight of the month of April and the Pirates are not in the midst of their normal early season collapse.

Also, aside from the untimely injury of budding superstar infielder O’Neil Cruz, the team is remaining relatively free from major position injuries. You can honestly say that their current winning streak, which as of Monday night, April 24, was seven, is unexpected because ownership did not venture into very deep player investment waters in the 2022 offseason.

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ current estimated budget is: $61,318,635. Compare that paltry sum to the current estimated payroll of the New York Yankees at: $279,047,468. Two Yankees superstars, Aaron Judge, who earns $40 million annually and Gerrit Cole, who rakes in $36 million per year earn approximately $15 million more than the entire Pittsburgh franchise. Since we are on the subject of dough, on the Sunday prior to the Dodgers trip to town, Pirates starter Vince Velasquez polished the Cincinnati Reds with a gem of a 2-0 shutout, striking out 10 Redlegs in the process.

Vince Velasquez is just one of the bright spots that are currently on the Pirates. Velasquez just seems to have the swag and confidence to infect the remainder of his teammates with the “virus of success.”

This 2023 squad seems to be relying on grit and determination, not pedigree, to become an oasis for Pirate fans that have been stranded and trapped in the desert of losing for so many years that many of us have stopped counting. At this early point in the season, Pirates ace relief pitcher David Bednar already has eight saves with a miniscule ERA of 0.82 with 14 strikeouts.

Watch out...these “boys of summer” appear to be locked and loaded. Steelers’ first full draft with Omar Khan at the helm as GM

There are many reasons that prognostications before any event are just that: suggestions and lightly greased prophecies that oftentimes are like a kiddie pool that is being visited by a visually challenged inebriated person with an ice pick; you just never know where the leak is going to come from. Well, if you doubt what I am saying all you have to do is think about Walter Abercrombie, Jarvis Jones, Gabe Rivera or Devin Bush, I rest my case. The narcissism gene in a few people most always rears its ugly head around the time that the NFL draft is about to occur. Some have had the nerve to label the process of the draft itself as a “science.” This is the first Steelers draft in 25 years that Kevin Colbert has not been the GM and top talent evaluator for the Steelers and for the first time in the history of the Black and Gold, both the head coach and the GM are men of color. The Steeler Nation should be pining for the team to trade up, down or round and round for the team to draft and sign Penn State cornerback Joey Porter Jr. Yeah, that’s right, the son of the former Steeler linebacker Joey Porter. Folks are saying that drafting a left tackle should be paramount regarding the protection of the team’s second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett, the Steelers’ first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. That may be partially true but the less points that the defense gives up that means there will be less pressure for Pickett to come from behind with more “Miracle on 34th Street” victories. The Steelers got the quarterback that the Steeler Nation hoped that they would chose in 2022. They must now get the best or one of the top cornerbacks that are on the board in 2023, period. The Washington Commanders are scheduled to draft from the 16th position, just one slot before the Steelers are scheduled to pick. The Steelers had better beg borrow and steal and dust off the Ouija Board and contact the late Monty Hall, the legendary host of the television show, “Let’s Make A Deal,” and get to crackin’. Curt Popejoy recently posted this on sports.yahoo.com: “The entire draft is going to be shaped by that No. 17 overall pick. That No. 32 overall pick as well as the rest of the Steelers early picks are going to be dictated by if the player or players the Steelers want most make it to No. 17. If we had a guess, offensive tackle and cornerback are the two positions being targeted and the Steelers are going to watch for a run at either or both and go from there. Cornerback is much deeper than offensive tackle so if there is a spot to hold on, that might be it.”

Oldest living U.S. Olympic medalist, Herb Douglas, has died at 101

The track and field legend was a storied businessman and philanthropist

by Erv Dyer Senior Editor, Pitt Magazine

Herbert P. Douglas Jr., the oldest living U.S. Olympic medalist—and a University of Pittsburgh alumnus who served on its Board of Trustees and was later named an emeritus trustee—died Saturday, April 22, 2023. He was 101.

“In every role that he filled, as an aspiring athlete from Hazelwood, as a student-athlete and University trustee and as an esteemed businessman, Olympian and community leader, Herb Douglas excelled,” Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said.

“He was both a champion himself and a champion of others, never hesitating to open doors of opportunity and help people pursue their own success.

Unsurprisingly, Herb left an indelible mark on this world, while leaving an incomprehensible hole in the hearts of so many. I am proud to have called him my friend, and Karen and I will be keeping his family and circle of loved ones close in thought as we begin to honor his remarkable life and legacy.”

In 1948, Douglas graduated from the University with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and placed second in the Olympic trials in the long jump.

A few months later, he won a bronze medal in London’s 1948 Summer Olympics.

“Herb Douglas led a remarkable life that inspired people the world over. Whether it was as an Olympic medalist, accomplished business executive or personal mentor, Herb impacted and was loved by so many.

That is certainly the case at the University of Pittsburgh, where his life and legacy are truly enduring,” said Heather Lyke, director of athletics at Pitt. “On a personal note, one of the greatest blessings for me here has been getting to know Herb and listening to the stories he shared and lessons he taught me. His incredible intellect and determination were only surpassed by his personal kindness.

Pitt Athletics is forever indebted to his passion and support. It is so fitting that our future indoor track will be named in Herb’s honor, ensuring his name and legacy live on to inspire future Pitt student-athletes.”

Douglas received a standing ovation when he was inducted into the inaugural Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame class in 2018. Four years later, at a celebration for Douglas’ 100th birthday, Gallagher announced an even greater recognition: the 300-meter indoor track planned for Pitt’s future Victory Heights facility would be named for one of the Panthers’ all-time greatest athletes: Herbert P. Douglas Jr.

“Herb Douglas meant so much to so many. He was a friend and mentor to me for more than two decades,” said Alonzo Webb, head coach of Pitt’s men’s and women’s track and field and cross-country teams. “Herb had an unwavering commitment to our University and athletics department. Through the Herbert P. Douglas Scholarship, he helped many track and field student-athletes attain a Pitt degree, and he always encouraged them to pursue graduate studies. Herb was a true Pitt ambassador who kept company with Presidents and world leaders. I’ll always treasure our conversations and his wisdom.”

Formative years

Born March 9, 1922, Douglas grew up in Pittsburgh’s Hazelwood neighborhood, where he showed off his remarkable athletic ability, running and playing basketball and competing in other sports at Taylor Allderdice High School.

At just 14, Douglas met Jesse Owens, the legendary Black Olympian who won four gold medals at the 1936 Games in Berlin. Owens placed his arms around the young man and asked Douglas about himself.

“I run the 100-meter dash and do the long jump,” Douglas said.

“That’s more than what I did at your age,” Owens responded, encouraging the teenage Douglas to go to college.

If not for the early discovery of his athleticism, Douglas likely would have followed his father into entrepreneurship rather than going to college.

Herbert Paul Douglas Sr. ran a Shadyside parking garage and presided over a close-knit family. As the younger Douglas told Pitt Magazine in summer 2008, his father taught him service, integrity and commitment.

Those values aided a young Douglas as he won city championships in tumbling, sprinting and basketball and state titles in track and field. In 1940, he set a broad jump record at Allderdice that stood for decades.

But breaking sports records and racial barriers wasn’t always easy. Douglas, the first Black basketball player at his high school, quit the squad in 1940 after teammates refused to pass him the ball. Segregation and Jim Crow were the order of the day, yet he continued to excel, winning an athletic scholarship to Xavier University of Louisiana, the country’s only Catholic historically Black college or university.

Ralph Metcalfe, the Xavier coach who recruited Douglas, won four track medals in the 1932 and 1936 Olympics. Under his tutelage in 1942, Douglas’ 440-relay team made Xavier the first Black college to win a national title.

During Douglas’ sophomore year, he returned to Pittsburgh to help manage the family business started by his father, who had lost his sight to a stroke when Douglas was in the first grade. Working with and observing his disciplined father helped Douglas learn to “analyze, organize, initiate and follow through,” he told Pitt Magazine in 2008. “Anyone who follows those four steps can succeed.”

‘The ultimate trailblazer’

Douglas transferred to Pitt in 1945 and starred on the University’s football and track teams from 1945 to 1948. He won four intercollegiate championships in the long jump and one in the 100-yard dash. He additionally captured three national Amateur Athletic Union championships in the long jump.

During his time at Pitt, he became close friends with Jimmy Joe Robinson, another pioneering Black student-athlete. Along with Allen Carter, they became the first Black football players at Pitt.

Then in 1948, he won a bronze medal in London’s Summer Olympics, with a 24-foot, 8.75-inch long jump.

In 1950, Douglas earned a master’s degree in ed-

ucation from Pitt. “More than anything, I wanted to be a coach,” he told Ebony Magazine in 2017.

“But Pittsburgh was not employing in the public school system African Americans to be coaches.”

Instead, he turned to sales and marketing, starting at Pabst Brewing Co. By 1963 he moved to Philadelphia when he joined Schieffelin and Co., a premium wine and spirits firm that is now Moët Hennessy US.

At Schieffelin and Co., Douglas worked his way to a vice presidency, becoming one of the first Black corporate executives in America to attain such a high position. He spent 30 years there, the last six as a consultant, and retired more than 25 years ago.

As he climbed the corporate ladder, Douglas used his influence to get African Americans hired and then mentored them through promotions. In the course of his work, he befriended civil rights stalwarts such as Medgar Evers, Andrew Young and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He would later go on to meet presidents, including Barack Obama, and other world leaders.

“Trailblazers are those who have the courage and commitment to open doors for others and provide the shoulders that many of us have stood on to achieve success in our lives,” Pitt Board of Trustees Chair Doug Browning said.

“From my first day as a member of the University of Pittsburgh’s Board of Trustees, Herb—the ultimate trailblazer— was there to welcome and guide me,” Browning added. “A proud African American alumnus who understood the transformative power of a Pitt education, Herb was a true champion of and for Pitt. On behalf of the board, his colleagues and friends, my wife, Sheila, and I extend our deepest condolences to Herb’s family members and loved ones during this difficult time.”

Lasting legacy

After retiring, Douglas’ focused on a philanthropy that raised support for student athletes and showcased important aspects of the history of Af-

rican Americans in sport.

Douglas remained friends with fellow Olympian Owens for decades, and founded the International Amateur Athletic Association in 1980 to honor Owens’ achievements. The association recognizes the finest amateur athletes in the world, and recipients have included diver Greg Louganis, runner Mary Decker and track and field athletes Edwin Moses and Roger Kingdom, who Douglas considered to be “surrogate sons.”

Douglas also created the Jesse Owens Global Award for Peace, using the appeal of sports to address social problems.

It has honored the likes of United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, President George H.W. Bush and South African President Nelson Mandela.

Pitt Chancellor Emeritus Mark Nordenberg, a close friend to Douglas for many years, said Douglas was especially proud of two documentaries he co-produced with his friend Bob Lott.

The first was produced in connection with a University celebration of the first 100 years of African American athletes competing at Pitt. It was shown at the Petersen Events Center in a program that included sports journalist Bob Costas as emcee and featured CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield.

The second documentary was “The Renaissance of the African American Athlete in Sport.” Though it debuted at Lincoln Center in New York City, Douglas soon showed it at Pitt, where Olympians came to support it. The film focused on the African American track athletes who medaled at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. These were the games that Hitler hoped would establish the supremacy of the Aryan race. Of course, these athletes shattered that myth. The most famous was Jesse Owens, but a Pitt freshman named John Woodruff won the gold medal in the 800 meters. Jackie Robinson’s older brother was also one of the medalists.

In the fall of 2013, Nordenberg presented Douglas with the Chancellor’s Medal at the Varsity Let-

terwinners Dinner. The Chancellor’s Medal is one of the most prestigious honors awarded by the University and recipients are persons who have left a mark on the proud traditions, values and character inherent in the University of Pittsburgh.

Nordenberg presented medals to both Douglas and businessman and philanthropist John M. Petersen that night and said: “I have been in this office for more than 18 years but never have awarded a Chancellor’s Medal. In fact, only eight such medals have been awarded since Chancellor Litchfield presented the first nearly 50 years ago in 1964, and none has been presented since Chancellor Posvar awarded his last in 1982, more than 30 years ago.”

Even with all the international outreach and networks he built, Douglas remained a champion for his hometown neighborhood of Hazelwood, where a colorful mural still heralds his 1948 Olympic win. When Pitt launched Community Engagement Centers in Pittsburgh’s Homewood and Hill District neighborhoods, he encouraged the University to continue its longstanding work in Hazelwood, a closeknit steel town neighborhood along the banks of the Monongahela River.

Lina Dostilio, vice chancellor of engagement and community affairs, remembers a conversation in 2017 when Douglas was excited about how Pitt was already engaging in terms of work development, child development and other health and education outreach to his home community as it recovered from the decline of the steel industry and “wanted to see Pitt’s support and investment in the people of Hazelwood go on.”

The Rev. Tim Smith moved to Hazelwood as a teenager in 1979, and he became deeply involved in the community. He eventually founded and leads the nonprofit community organization Center of Life and befriended Douglas a few decades ago. Douglas, Smith said, “has always been a big supporter of Hazelwood.” He recalled Douglas’ efforts to pull together scholarships for

kids to participate in a Jesse Owens track competition, the time he took to connect the Center of Life and the whole community with Pitt to bring education and other resources to Hazelwood.

“He brought attention to bear to Hazelwood. He has a lot of history with Hazelwood, and we’re trying to build on that,” said Smith.

Roger Kingdom (CGS ’02), who won Olympic gold in the 110-meter high hurdles in 1984 and 1988, was a Pitt sophomore when he met Douglas more than three decades ago.

Kingdom described Douglas as a father-like mentor who gave him advice for the Olympics and continually pushed him to earn his bachelor’s degree—which took Kingdom more than 20 years to complete.

“We developed such a bond that I started to call him ‘Daddy Herb,’ ” Kingdom said. “He inspired me in so many ways but gave me two very important directives. First, finish my degree as I promised my mother. Second, he shared his secret for success: ‘Always analyze, organize, initiate and follow through.’ That wisdom made a major difference for me and so many others. I hope I can touch even a fraction of the lives he did. Daddy Herb, we love you and thank you for giving so much to make this world a better place.”

Douglas was predeceased by his parents, Herbert P. Douglas Sr. and Ilessa Douglas; his sister, Barbara Joy Stevens; and his son, Herbert P. Douglas III.

He is survived by daughter Barbara Joy Ralston of Copenhagen, Denmark; daughter-in-law Susan Douglas of Richmond, VA; four grandchildren, Tracy Douglas of Richmond, VA, Christopher Douglas of Aldie, VA, Mikel Christianson of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Anja Besnik of Vienna, Austria; as well as by great-grandchildren, grandnieces and grandnephews. Memorial contributions can be made to the Herbert P. Douglas Jr. Scholarship at the University of Pittsburgh. Service details are pending.

HERB DOUGLAS, RIGHT, with then-Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg and South African President Nelson Mandela.

‘Sisters Lifting As We Climb Network’ becoming more influential in Pittsburgh region

by Rob Taylor Jr.

Courier Staff Writer

No one can do it alone.

For Sharnay Hearn Davis, she founded the “Sisters Lifting As We Climb Network” as another avenue for Pittsburgh’s Black women to mix, mingle, learn, earn, and prosper.

“I see myself as that convener, the opportunity broker,” said Davis, the proud Hill District native, in an interview with the New Pittsburgh Courier. Started in 2015, the network has grown to an online community of 800 women, mostly from the Pittsburgh area. It’s now an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

The organization held a Power Broker Brunch at Fogo De Chao Brazilian Steakhouse, Downtown, on March 4. It brought Black women together to, in this event, specifically discuss the importance of understanding the political landscape in Western Pa. Speakers included former Duquesne Mayor Nickole Nesby, Allegheny County Councilwoman Olivia Bennett, and Delancey Walton, who, a few years ago at age 18, was the youngest person to ever run for Pittsburgh School Board. The event was co-sponsored by Take Action Advocacy Group and the Center for Shared Prosperity. The topic was right on time, as the region turns its focus to the upcoming Primary Election on May 16, where Black women are running for all types of positions, such as Pittsburgh School Board, Magisterial District Judges, mayoral positions and Pittsburgh City Council.

Overall, Sisters Lifting

As We Climb provides “healing spaces to address underlying trauma, safe spaces for Black women to obtain support and professional connections such as sponsorship for coaching and professional development, platforms to promote businesses owned by Black women and to showcase their expertise, and providing capacity support to Black women-led organizations serving Black women,” Davis told the Courier. The Sisters Lifting

As We Climb Network has also provided over $200,000 in scholarships

for professional development for Black women, Davis said, thanks to a partnership with Christy Uffelman, the CEO of Edge Leadership.

Supporters of the organization include Charlene Newkirk, Southeast Region President, Community College of Allegheny County, Penn Hills Mayoral Candidate Qiana Buckner, Finance/Campaign Guru Darcell Madkins, and former Director of Government Relations for Giant Eagle, Jackie Dixon.

SHARNAY HEARN DAVIS, SECOND FROM RIGHT, IS THE FOUNDER OF SISTERS LIFTING AS WE CLIMB NETWORK. ALSO PICTURED ARE TWANDA CARLISLE, JACKIE DIXON AND JEANINE MCCREARY. (PHOTOS BY DAYNA DELGADO)

FAWN WALKER-MONTGOMERY OF TAKE ACTION ADVOCACY GROUP SEE WE CLIMB NETWORK A7

“We work across the local government, corporate, nonprofit, and academic sectors to influence the creation of sustainable solutions that impact Black women and marginalized communities,” Davis, 34, a 2006 Penn Hills High School graduate, told the Courier. “We are now using our platform to call for others to ‘Invest in Black Women.’ ‘Investing in Black Women’ helps create an equitable society where everyone can access opportunity and be empowered. It means providing resources, education, and funding to Black women who are

often excluded from traditional economic and social systems. This helps them develop the skills and resources to reach their full potential and create strong and vibrant communities. It also speaks to the importance of community-building, collaboration, and empathy. By investing in Black women, we truly invest in our collective future.”

NICOLE WEBSTER, TENIKA CHAVIS (PHOTOS BY DAYNA DELGADO)

OLIVIA BENNETT, DELANCEY WALTON, NICKOLE NESBY

CHARLENE NEWKIRK, SOUTHEAST REGION PRESIDENT, CCAC

WHO’S THE NEXT MAGISTRATE JUDGE?

Weldianne Scales, Brooke Burchette-Williams vying for the vacant position

by Rob Taylor Jr.

Courier Staff Writer

Most times, a person’s first foray into the judicial system is in front of a magisterial district judge, or magistrate. You don’t always see them on national TV, presiding over some capital murder case that’s captivated the attention of the nation.

But in the words of Weldianne Scales, the magistrate court is vital, because it “sets the tone for whether or not a particular activity is truly criminal in nature.”

Scales is one of two Black women vying for the vacant magisterial district judge open seat (05-2-08), in the May 16 Primary Election. Brooke Burchette-Williams, who is also Black, is a candidate, as is Lisa Caulfield, an experienced trial attorney for more than 20 years.

There are 46 magisterial district courts within the Fifth Judicial District.

Right now, just five of the judges are Black.

Magisterial district judges oversee summary criminal cases, traffic and non-traffic citations, civil matters such as contracts and landlord/ tenant disputes, marriage ceremonies, Protection

From Abuse orders, and preliminary hearings/ar-

raignments on criminal matters. The judges also can deal with truancy matters. Scales, Burchette-Williams and Caulfield are looking to represent an area that includes Swissvale, Forest Hills, Churchill, Braddock Hills and Chalfant.

Scales, 37, is a Swissvale resident, and serves as vice president of Swissvale borough council. A Central Florida native, Scales moved to Pittsburgh with her husband, Leland, in 2014. She earned her bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Central Florida, and her J.D. from the Detroit Mercy School of Law. She was a judicial intern in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas Family Division. Scales has worked for Blaine Jones Law as director of the civil division, in which she handled all civil matters including immigration, estate and traffic. She has provided pro bono services to the Neighborhood Legal Services Association, and still provides pro bono services for the organization’s Protection From Abuse victims. She’s currently an associate attorney at Burns White, serving in civil litigation defense.

In her role as a legislator for the borough of Swissvale, Scales found that a lot of legislation the council members passed to protect individuals from, say, discrimination,

“I see as an attorney that our courts are not following suit,” she told the New Pittsburgh Courier.

“Magistrate courts are not achieving the goal we want to achieve, which is building up our community. If we have a magistrate court that is an introduction to the judicial system that’s not following suit, we’re not getting as far as we should be.”

Scales said that as a Black female attorney and daughter of an immigrant, “I see firsthand that racism is still going on in our judicial system, and magistrate courts is where real change in our community can happen.”

Throughout her time in Swissvale, Scales has hosted a free legal clinic called, “Ask a Lawyer,” where residents could get information on bankruptcy, landlord/tenant disputes and family custody matters. She also was instrumental in bringing

Juneteenth celebrations to Swissvale. “I believe that the main qualities of a good magistrate are knowledge of the law...and a commitment to the community,” Scales told the Courier. “I identify with the community and this is what our community deserves. We deserve to have a magistrate that is truly for building up individuals no matter what. All should have access to justice.”

Burchette-Williams, 35, is a Pittsburgh native, a Westinghouse High School graduate, and an alum of Point Park University. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Clinical Psychology from Point Park and currently resides in Churchill. In fact, she’s a member of the Churchill borough council, a position she began in January 2022.

In the summer of 2022, Burchette-Williams underwent a series of examinations to become certified by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Minor Judiciary Education Board. That enables Burchette-Williams, and others who pass the tests,

to become eligible for a magisterial district judge position.

“I’m running for magistrate because I believe that our communities need to be safe,” Burchette-Williams told the Courier. “We need to have a place where individuals can come to resolve their legal matters in a way that is fair, in a way that provides them with restorative and true justice. Oftentimes, members of the community who

become judges have used their position of authority to use the law as a stumbling block for members of our community, to marginalize particular groups within our community and to push their own self interests opposed to really benefitting and changing the dynamics in our community.”

Burchette-Williams, who currently mediates legal cases that involve landlord/tenant disputes for a local nonprofit organi-

zation, was a community organizer for Operation Better Block, based in Homewood. She saw from the ground the legal matters people had, along with people’s transportation issues, the workforce development programs, and the available reading programs for youth.

“Being that I have that well-rounded experience of working on the front lines in our community, I’m able to handle and understand the lived experiences of our community who will be coming through our court system,” Burchette-Williams said.

Another advantage Burchette-Williams said she has is that she’s a native Pittsburgher.

“I’ve lived in Homewood, Downtown, to Friendship, Churchill...different demographics, different income levels, different traditions,” she said. “I’ve been able to interact with people from all walks of life in a way that sees them as individuals and humans, and I’m able to ensure that my engagement with them does not promote any kind of bias or prejudice. I’m able to meet people where they are.”

BROOKE BURCHETTE-WILLIAMS, WELDIANNE SCALES

A SERIES OF COMMUNITY PEACE SUMMITS HAVE BEEN HELD THROUGHOUT PITTSBURGH, SPONSORED BY THE BLACK POLITICAL EMPOWERMENT

ATTEMPTING TO BRING

TO FIGURE OUT WAYS TO STOP THE VIOLENCE IN PITTSBURGH’S BLACK COMMUNITIES. PICTURED ABOVE IS REV. DR. JAMES H. HARRIS SR., PASTOR OF ST. JAMES AME CHURCH, LINCOLN AVENUE.

POLICE ASST. CHIEF LONNIE BICKERSTAFF

BREAKOUT GROUPS, WORKING ON SOLUTIONS TO THE VIOLENCE PROBLEM. (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)

LUENNA COWARD, A MOTHER WHO LOST THREE SONS...

Mike Pelaia plays Steelers GM— NFL Draft is April 27-29

The 2023 NFL Draft is here, beginning Thursday, April 27 at 8 p.m., and once again it provides all 32 NFL teams with hope and promise of success in the upcoming season.

If these teams, including the Pittsburgh Steelers, can draft well and pick the right players for not only their immediate needs but to build around in the future, they will reap the benefits. Should they fail, well, it could set the team back for years. Heading into this year’s draft, I believe the Steelers have a few areas of need but fortunately nothing so overtly glaring that they have to panic and over draft on any particular position. The needs that I see are cornerback, offensive line, outside and potentially inside linebacker, safety and possibly a third quar-

terback. You’ll hear some folks tell you the team needs a wide receiver and a tight end. I completely disagree. When the team added Allen Robinson, they eliminated the need for wide receiver and with Pat Friermuth as the top tight end, they don’t need to draft a stud there. I don’t know why, but people continue to forget about Connor Heyward at that position. He proved he can play, they don’t need to waste a pick on a tight end at all.

Here’s how I see the Steelers seven rounds playing out based on my most recent simulation. Round 1, Pick 17—CB Deonte Banks, Maryland—Banks fills what is probably the Steelers’ biggest need and can start from day one if needed.

He’s an experienced starter with size and athleticism that will help in coverage and in the run game if necessary. With guys like Ja’Marr Chase in the division, this is a necessary pick.

Round 2, Pick 32—DT Bryan Bresee, Clemson —The Steelers need to build their trenches and Bresee is too good to pass up. He’ll add size and run-stopping ability in the middle of an already stout defense. I love this pick here if the team has the

opportunity to make it.

Round 2, Pick 49— EDGE Keion White, Georgia Tech—White adds much needed depth to a thin OLB group. He can learn from T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith while getting decent playing time as a rookie. If he develops, he could even replace Highsmith if the team can’t afford to keep him.

Round 3, Pick 80— OT Blake Freeland, BYU—I don’t love waiting until round three to pick an offensive lineman but the way this draft has simulated, that’s the best I could do. Freeland is a big, strong kid who can step in and play right away. He’ll help protect Kenny Pickett and open up the run for Najee Harris. A solid third round

selection.

Round 4, Pick 120—

LB Henry To’o To’o, Alabama—The Steelers love their Power 5 players and that’s exactly what To’o To’o is. An experienced starter out of Alabama, he has the pedigree and fire to be a good depth guy in year one and step in as a starter in year two. I think this would be a steal if they can pull this off in round four.

Round 5 – NO PICK

Round 6 – NO PICK

Round 7, Pick 241—

WR Jason Brownlee Jr, Southern Miss—While I certainly don’t think the team needs a wide receiver, many folks do believe the team will take one and the Steelers have proven over the years that they

love drafting wideouts. In the seventh round, I can see that happening as a depth move.

Round 7, Pick 251— QB Tim DeMorat, Fordham— DeMorat could be a good number three QB. It’s also possible he’s released after camp but worth bringing in. The Steelers are on the cusp of becoming a formidable team in the AFC. Adding pieces on both sides of the ball will only help solidify their future and ideally help them win while Kenny Pickett and Najee Harris are on their rookie deals. Time will tell but this draft will certainly help them make the strides they and all the fans are looking for.

COACH BILL SHAY, BASKETBALL ROYALTY, TO BE HONORED!

:10—I know, I know, I know, it’s NBA playoff time... and it’s NHL playoff time (without your Pens, of course)...and at last count, Miracle of Miracles, your Pittsburgh Pirates have won seven, count ’em, 7 in a row!!! But I’ve got something more important than all that. One of Western Pa.’s all-time greatest coaches, moreover one of our greatest people, Coach Bill Shay, of most notable CCAC fame, is soon to be honored and enshrined for his years of dedication to the game of basketball and the many vines that connect, as well as advanced education, community development and more than anything, character building! Thus, the coming together of many of his former players to have the Community College of Allegheny County mount “a bust” in his likeness in the campus gymnasium. While that location may not immediately strike a chord with you, clearly some of the legendary names that played there will...Harold Johnson, Gene Turner, Ralph McClelland, Fred Ingles, Rocky White and Larry DiCicco, to name a few. This is a notice to get you ready to be a part of the celebration for the winningest basketball coach in Western Pa. To get zeroed-in, on all the details, contact organizer and former player Larry DiCicco at 412-277-9222 or e-mail him at LRDiciccopgh@gmail.com. The

link for the game plan and Go Fund Me account is: https://www.gofundme/ fcoach-shay. Be advised, an open house is planned at the school for Wednesday, May 3! More details will follow.

:09—Speaking of legends... and I was, I can assure you that every team in the NBA playoffs would love to have the giant of a man named Connie Hawkins in their lineup. It would guarantee victory today as it did for the ABA Pittsburgh Pipers. Coming up on the anniversary of Pittsburgh’s only world basketball title, May 4, 1968, as Hawkins, then the greatest player on the planet, led his superstar Pipers to historic and world glory, defeating New Orleans, 4 games to

3. Connie Hawkins was the leading scorer and named MVP.

:08—BTW, if you’re at PPG Paints Arena waiting for the Pens’ playoff game...they didn’t make the playoffs! C’mon man, even I knew that!?!

:07—The NBA Baby...I love this game! Here’s how it sets up. Miami Heat will beat Milwaukee Bucks; Boston Celtics

will beat Atlanta Hawks; Philly 76ers have already eliminated Brooklyn; New York Knicks over Cleveland Cavs. Boston will come out of the East. In the West....Denver beats Minnesota Timberwolves; L.A. Lakers upset Memphis Grizzlies; Golden State Warriors will struggle to beat the young Sacramento Kings; Phoenix Suns eliminate the L.A. Clippers. AND YES, LITTLE JOHNNY, MY L.A. LAKERS WILL COME STORMING OUT OF THE WEST...That you can take to your local bookies!!! (But watch your back...I’ve been wrong before.)

:06—As noted, the Pitt Pirates are the hottest team in baseball...but hold on, wait-a-minute!

:05—The NFL Draft comes your way Thursday, April 27 thru Saturday, April 29. No need to thank me, that’s what I am here for.

:04—Here are the top five players expected to go in this year’s draft. #1 Bryce Young, QB, Alabama—#2 C. J. Stroud, QB, Ohio State—#3 Will Anderson Jr., Edge Rusher, Alabama—#4 Tyree Wilson, DE, Texas Tech— #5 Bijan Robinson, RB, Texas. Stay tuned!

:03—The #1 player to be selected in the 2023 NFL Draft will be Bryce Young, the QB out of Alabama. 5 ft. 11, 204 pounds, with everything needed to be an NFL Superstar. After all, Roll Tide Roll!

:02—Here are the projected top Steeler draft selections: #1 DT Jalen Carter, Georgia; #2 Edge Rusher Will Anderson, Alabama; #3 Cornerback

Kalee Ringo, Georgia; #4 Offensive Tackle Peter Skoronski, Northwestern; #5 Cornerback Joey Porter Jr., Penn State.

:01—For the record, Mr.

Tiger Woods will win another major, you heard it here first. But you can’t take it to the bank. Maybe a loan shark? :00—GAME OVER.

CONNIE HAWKINS

The urgency of ending the racial wealth gap

This article, inspired by Deloitte research, is part of a series in which five Black-owned publications around the United States explore the key factors that contribute to racial and generational gaps in acquiring wealth.

“The career choices open to Black men?”

Independent economics researcher Chris Lee seems bemused by the question.

“Well, there’s a famous book by William Julius Wilson about when work ‘disappears,’” Lee finally replies.

“Work for high school graduates, that pays well, has disappeared, especially for men and more so for Black men who are high school level graduates—and now it’s happening to some who are in college too.”

Indeed, a 2020 analysis from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that Black men have the lowest employment numbers among all ethnic groups. In addition, when Black women are employed, they earn 63 percent less than what a White man would be paid for the same job, according to the analysis.

This unequal access to jobs and reduced earning power presents Black households with fewer opportunities to build wealth through home ownership and the

acquisition of stocks.  Those dual pillars of financial well-being are “the largest assets driving wealth creation,” according to a recent analysis of how homeownership and stocks contribute to the wealth gap in America, which draws on data from the Federal Reserve Board’s 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances.

On average, the study finds, White households added $34,400 to their median real wealth between 2010 and 2019, while Hispanic households added $17,100 and Black households only $5,300.

by Roz Edward

Millions of Americans are still reeling from the unparalleled setbacks of the past few years, and too many Black consumers continue to face serious financial fallout in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Intentionality of the Racial Wealth Gap

“The main thing that we need to know is that there was never ‘40 acres and a mule.’ And as a result, we have suffered ever since.”

Black Americans having less wealth than White Americans—the racial wealth gap—“can be traced to slavery and the end of the Civil War when government policies and programs were created to keep Black Americans from prospering in U.S. society,” says Jan E. Christopher, an associate professor of economics in the Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance in the College of Busi-

Many of those losses suffered are, in large part, due to job loss, wage reductions, and the subsequent devastation imposed by inflation. The upheaval and insecurity hinder financial recovery for individuals and families.

But New Year’s resolutions aside— and post-pandemic financial recovery seemingly around the corner—it’s imperative that African American consumers examine their current financial status, assess their economic wellbeing, and develop a realistic plan to get back on track to building savings and wealth for short, long-term, and legacy goals.

Wells Fargo wants consumers to do more than just survive or persevere through the storm. The financial institution encourages saving and budgeting, addresses budget basics, and is applying new strategies and products to help Black Americans save now to help build healthy financial futures.

Nicole Burrell, SVP, Delaware South District Manager, Wells Fargo, explains that the task of getting your finances back in order and moving toward your financial goals is not as daunting as it may appear at first glance.

The banking leader shared invaluable advice for consumers to help get

their bearings and get going with budgeting and savings plans.

“The first thing to do is analyze and start with where you are financially,” Burrell said, adding that this starts with assessing where you are with your saving and budgeting goals. Sitting down with a banker can help.

“People don’t know what they don’t know until they sit down with someone and go through the discovery process and review debt versus starting at trying to save a certain amount of dollars,” she added. “They’re able to see the bigger picture and use resources to help them to get on track…or make adjustments within the means they have already.”

You can start building a budget by just making a record of how much you spend vs. how much monthly income you have, Burrell said. This can include how much you’re paying towards credit debt.

“Just do a deep analysis because a lot of times your savings comes from readjusting your debt in order for you to be able to save money,” she said.

To help pay down credit card debt faster, consider finding a credit card that offers a 0 percent interest rate on balance transfers and allows you to consolidate your credit card debt into one monthly payment. Consult Wells Fargo’s Smarter Credit Center for other tips to help consolidate debt.  Wells Fargo also offers its customers tools to help stay on target like Budget Watch, which allows users to create a

personalized budget and know on a month-by-month basis where they are on spending vs. their income.

Sometimes there are emergencies and if something throws you off track in one month, Budget Watch can help you decide where you may need to reduce expenses in the future. Even if you are making financial strides after setting your budget, Burrell recommends meeting with a banker to see what your financial picture looks like.

What a banker can do is help a customer discover what their needs are.

“Our bankers will go through a full discovery around how and what you are looking to do, what you are looking to accomplish, and provide you with a financial plan of how you can get there,” she said.

Getting back on the money track may appear to be a daunting task—or at least one that doesn’t appear feasible in the short term or not even long term. But according to Wells Fargo, it’s more than possible to achieve your financial objectives and they offer tools and strategies to help consumers reach solid financial footing.

“I wouldn’t have been doing this work for the past 32 years if I didn’t have a passion for helping customers get to their financial goals,” Burrell said. “At Wells Fargo we are excited to help customers discover what’s possible and meet their financial goals.”

(Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Copyright © 2023 Local Media )

Is a ‘bi-merge’ credit report in the best interest of the consumer?

If you’re an avid reader of my column, you know I talk more about building your net worth than I talk about building your credit score. I think two things can be done at once. I believe if you focus on building your net worth, an indirect benefit is that you’re simultaneously building your credit score. Here’s why:

Building your net worth encourages you to purchase assets. Building your net worth encourages you to pay your bills on time. More importantly, building your net worth encourages you to pay your debts off as soon as humanly possible.

Thirty-five percent of your credit score is based on your payment history. Thirty percent of your credit score is based on your utilization rate. By paying your bills on time and paying them off as soon as possible — particularly your credit cards, you benefit by having a good payment history and a low utilization rate. The end result is a great credit score. When you focus squarely on building and maintaining your credit score, you run the risk of financing your lifestyle and not necessarily accumulating assets. Those who focus squarely on building their credit score tend to end up with a credit score that’s higher than the balance in their savings account. That’s hustling backwards if you ask me. Nonetheless, one thing is for certain: having a good-to-great credit score is of paramount importance. Your credit score is viewed by landlords, banks, insurance companies and some jobs. Cash is king but credit is power.

Understanding how important credit is to readers of my column and followers of my social media pages, I’ve decided to reach out to one of the big three credit bureaus—TransUnion. I wanted to get the inside scoop on topics of importance to them. This is one of many articles

we’ll co-author.

From Tracie Anderson, Principal of Economic Inclusion for U.S. Markets and Consumer Interactive at TransUnion:

There are two major decisions pending before the federal government right now that could affect homebuyers. One could make it significantly easier for creditworthy borrowers to get credit, while the other could prevent access for lower to moderate income buyers. I’ll explain:

As one of the largest national consumer reporting agencies, we see every day how a person’s credit can materially impact financing to buy a home. Although there are several actions people can take to build credit, many of the things they do every day aren’t always counted. Some quick examples: Common activities such as paying rent, utilities or phone bills are not always reported to credit bureaus like TransUnion. That means people may miss the opportunity to have this payment history included on their credit profile (and by extension, have it influence their credit scores). This missed opportunity can significantly limit the millions of Americans who have a “thin” credit file, or no credit at all.

The Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA), which makes policy decisions about conventional mortgages (the vast majority of mortgages), is looking to fix that for homebuyers by moving to what we call an “alternative data” model. That means companies that provide credit scores in a home purchase

— like FICO, and soon VantageScore as well — could count rent payments and the like for credit scoring on a home purchase. This advancement could be a great motivation to drive greater reporting of rent, utilities and phone bill payments to credit bureaus.

That change won’t happen for a little while, but it’s a smart decision we’re excited to see move forward.

Now, here’s one other change that’s not as positive for homebuyers. When you purchase a home today, the lender typically pulls your credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus (including TransUnion). They call this a “tri-merge” report. It provides lenders with three distinct scores based on three distinct consumer credit reports, and it’s an easy way for a lender to get as much information as possible to build an accurate picture of a borrower’s financial position.

FHFA has proposed moving to a “bimerge” requirement, requiring reports from only two of the three bureaus. That may sound like a small change, but if you bank at a small institution or don’t have perfect credit, it could be a big deal. For example, what happens to someone who banks with a small institution that doesn’t provide data to all three bureaus? Do they get left out if they want a mortgage from another financial institution that only pulls credit reports from the “wrong” bureaus?

Or what about someone who has a credit score that hovers around 620—an important threshold many lenders use to determine eligibility? Let’s say their three scores with each of the major bu-

reaus are 630, 624 and 618. That buyer might be OK under the tri-merge model that uses all three scores.

But if a bank pulled only the 624 and the 618 scores using the proposed “bimerge” model and the lender uses the lower of the two scores to determine eligibility, that could lead to a higher interest rate or lock a buyer out altogether.

People should have every opportunity to put their best foot forward. That’s what the current model offers, and it’s a model we hope FHFA will ultimately decide to keep. In the meantime, anyone looking to buy a home should keep an eye on these two major changes under consideration.

Damon Carr here: There you have it straight from someone who works for one of the credit bureas. “Alternate Data” model: This sounds like a good thing to me. Using things like rent, utility bills, and phone bills to help build your credit profile. These bills represent bills of necessity. We all need a place to live. We all need basic utilities like light, gas, and water. In the event money is tight, you’re more likely to pay these bills than you are to pay credit cards.

Bi-merge credit report: Lenders to pull credit reports from only two credit bureaus instead of three. I doubt if this change moves forward. If you’ve ever applied for a mortgage, you’d know mortgage lenders want to know everything there is to know about you. Nowadays, not only are mortgage companies pulling a tri-merge credit report to determine your credit worthiness, they’re also pulling a bankruptcy score to determine the likelihood you’d file bankruptcy. A tri-merge credit report not only helps a borrower by providing more credit scores, it also serves as insurance and assurance that lenders are approving loans with all pertinent information.

This unequal access to jobs and reduced earning power presents Black households with fewer opportunities to build wealth through homeownership and the acquisition of stocks.

101: Getting your credit back on track

by Megan Sayles

For New Pittsburgh Courier

After three decades of financial industry work, Heather Philp,

Senior Vice President of Credit Card Product Manage-

ment at Wells Fargo Bank, has seen it all. While some things in the finance industry have changed, many things have stayed the same. Financial literacy will always be key to effectively managing money, and failure to pay bills on time is still a surefire way to sink your credit.

“It’s got a very significant weight on your credit score,” Philp said. “Life happens. We go out and spend $1,000 on our credit card, something happens in the middle of the month, and when that minimum payment comes due, we forget that it should be a priority payment versus potentially going out for a cup of coffee. At that point in time, we really have to prioritize doing everything we can to make that minimum payment on time.”

Philp also said using too much available credit can harm a credit score. Although an individual’s credit limit may be $2,000, it’s always best to keep your usage as low as possible.

Credit scores span from 300 to 850, and Philp said people should aim to keep their credit score comfortably in or above the 700 range. Better credit scores mean lower interest rates from lenders seeking assurances that a consumer will repay a loan.

To improve a poor credit score, Philp said aside from paying bills on time, individuals can apply for a secured credit card, which takes a cash deposit upfront and helps establish and build credit history.

They can also diversify their debt with different types of credit accounts to indicate to lenders that they can reliably manage more than one account.

Black leaders in banking: Q&A with Wells Fargo’s Kristy Fercho

by Wells Fargo

For New Pittsburgh Courier

“If you’re rebuilding your credit, take a look at all the debt that you have outstanding, and always try to pay off the balance that has the highest interest rate because that helps you with starting to save money,” said Philp.

“Hopefully, then it’s money that you can use to continue to pay off the debt on a month-to-month basis.”

The time it takes to improve a credit score varies from person to person. It could take a few months, or it could take more than a year, but Philp said the most important thing is staying on course and adopting habits to repair credit.  She recommends taking advantage of the federal law that allows every consumer to receive a free annual credit report from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion by using AnnualCreditReport.com. This is a good way to improve financial progress and credit history. If an individual is a Wells Fargo customer, Philp said, the bank’s Credit Close-upSM tool is a useful way of seeing credit scores, which update on a monthly basis.

“I’m always of the opinion that the more you’re tracking your actions, the better you will be in terms of being able to maintain that positive reinforcement because now you’re seeing your score improve, hopefully a few points at a time,” said Philp.

“It’s certainly not going to improve overnight. For some people, it may take a year. For some people, it may take a little bit longer. But it really depends on each individual’s ability to make those payments because, again, it’s those payments that help to repair the score.”

(Megan Sayles is a Reporter for America corps member.)

(Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Copyright © 2023 Local Media)

Q: Can you describe your role at Wells Fargo?

A: I lead Diverse Segments, Representation and Inclusion (DSRI) and Home Lending for Wells Fargo. As the leader of DSRI, I am responsible for integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) into every aspect of the company’s business and delivering marketplace and workplace outcomes by developing products and services for customers from underserved communities.

In this capacity, I also serve on the Wells Fargo Operating Committee.

In Home Lending, I oversee one of the nation’s leading combined home lenders and servicers, managing a team of mortgage professionals in sales, operations, servicing, capital markets, portfolio management, and related business, risk management, and supporting functions. Our work on diversity, equity, and inclusion is a long-term commitment, and I am very proud to be leading a dedicated team that is committed to driving positive outcomes for our employees and communities.

Q: What would you say is the best part of the work you get to do?

A: The best part of my role in Home Lending is the privilege I have of helping people achieve the American dream. Homeownership is still the single largest financial purchase that most people will ever make, and it creates generational wealth. As the new head of DSRI, there are two aspects that mean a lot to me:

1) Helping to create the products and solutions that address the inequities in our financial system for underserved communities, and 2) Helping to inspire a culture that allows people to bring their whole selves to work to achieve our business objectives.

Q: What does diversity and inclusion mean for you?

A: Diversity and Inclusion means the company is welcoming of different perspectives and opinions, and where uniqueness can be celebrated and leveraged for the company to achieve its results.

Q: What is one piece of career advice you can give to our readers?

A: My advice is to ask the first question in meetings. It is a very effective way to get noticed, to demonstrate your engagement, and it shows interest in things that might be beyond your current set of responsibilities.

Q: Having a role in banking can seem daunting at times, what do you enjoy most outside of work?

A: Dinner with friends is one thing

that I enjoy most because it is a great way to connect, to experience fellowship, and to affirm each other.

Q: Describe your proudest moment to date.

A: Being installed as the chair of the Mortgage Bankers Association has been among my proudest moments. I was the first Black and only fourth woman in the 109-year history of the organization to hold that role. My mom was in the audience during my installation, and I got to thank her publicly for all her sacrifices, love, and support. None of it would have happened without her.

Q: What would you say is the most important lesson about finances?

A: Invest in a 401(k)-retirement savings plan from day one at your company, especially if it offers a match. Your money compounds and it builds exponentially, and since it’s deducted pre-tax, you don’t even miss it.

Q: Can you describe a pivotal moment in your career?

A: A pivotal moment in my career was being asked to run a line of business. That opportunity launched my trajectory to where I am today.

Q: What does having an “authentic voice” mean for you?

I am typically the “double only” (Black woman) in the room. I feel as if it’s my obligation to bring the voice of others into the room and to offer a different perspective. If I don’t speak up, authentically, I’ve missed the opportunity to challenge thinking.

Kristy Fercho is head of Diverse Segments, Representation and In-

clusion (DSRI) and head of Wells Fargo Home Lending. As the leader of DSRI, she is responsible for integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) into every aspect of the company’s business and delivering marketplace and workplace outcomes by developing products and services to serve customers from underserved communities and driving DE&I initiatives companywide.  In this capacity, Kristy serves on the Wells Fargo Operating Committee.

Kristy also continues to oversee one of the nation’s leading combined home lenders and servicers, managing a team of mortgage professionals in sales, operations, servicing, capital markets, portfolio management, and related business, risk management, and supporting functions.

Kristy joined Wells Fargo in 2020 from Flagstar Bank, where she served as president of the company’s mortgage division since 2017. Prior to joining Flagstar, she spent 15 years with Fannie Mae, where she led the strategy and business performance of single-family customers in the western United States and previously served in customer engagement and human resources (HR) roles. Kristy began her career and served in a variety of sales, operations, and HR roles at Baxter International before moving to PepsiCo Inc., where she worked in a variety of HR roles and ultimately was director of worldwide corporate HR.

Kristy is the immediate past Chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association and a member of its Residential Board of Governors.  She also leads the Affordable Housing working group for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency REACh initiative.  She serves on the boards of the National Urban League, Opens Doors Foundation and the Wells Fargo Foundation. Her industry accolades include being selected for American Banker’s 2022 and 2021 “Women to Watch” list; HousingWire named her a Women of Influence in the housing industry; MReport honored her as one of the Top Women in Housing; Diversity Journal listed her among its Women Worth Watching; and National Mortgage Professional Magazine named her to its list of Most Powerful Women.  Kristy is a graduate of the University of Southern California and holds a Masters of Business Administration from Saint Joseph’s University, where she serves on the Board of Trustees.

Copyright © 2023 Local Media Association

The urgency of ending the racial wealth gap

ness at Delaware State University.

“The main thing that we need to know is that there was never ‘40 acres and a mule.’ And as a result, we have suffered ever since,” observes Christopher.

The promised 1865 wartime order that would have allotted 40 acres of land and a mule to some 40,000 emancipated African Americans as a form of compensation for being enslaved was never granted.

In a 2021 report, researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis pointed out that historical discriminatory laws continue to hamper Black people from accessing wealth at the same pace as Whites, and called for systematic change.

“Our findings also suggest that historic economic advantages enjoyed by White families continue to influence the wealth accumulation of their descendants,” the report says. “Our research suggests families will be better positioned to fully participate in the economy and realize their full economic potential when race is no longer predictive of starting points,” it concludes.

The report explains how Federal policies like the 1862 Homestead Act, the Social Security Act of 1935, the 1944 G.I. Bill, and multiple levels of discrimination in the criminal justice system have helped the nation maintain a racial—and financial—hierarchy that is still in place to this day.

For example, the Homestead Act granted 160-acre plots of government land to only White people, and the Social Security Act created financial safeguards for the elderly, unemployed, and disabled, but took pains to exclude predominantly African American domestic and farm workers. The G.I. Bill welcomed home returning World War II veterans with access to employment, schooling, and housing, but ended up excluding many Black veterans, according to the report.

Meanwhile, racially restrictive covenants and “redlining” kept Black homebuyers out of “White” neighborhoods with higher property values. This combination of policies and business practices steered them to neighborhoods seen as undesirable—neighborhoods

where their homes are less likely to grow in value, thus denying their families access to generational wealth, the report points out.

A Need for Significant, Systemic Change

Reducing the differences in wealth attainment brought about by generations of these policies undoubtedly takes work.

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis researchers noted that “individual actions and marginal policy changes” simply aren’t enough to undo the damage of “systemic barriers like asset poverty, the legacy of wealth-stripping tactics in housing markets, and discriminatory practices.”

Instead, “larger systemic changes” are needed—and there is a call to consider forms of reparations to the descendants of enslaved Black Americans as part of the solution.

For example, in June 2022, California’s Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans released its 500-page interim report detailing “the ongoing and compounding harms experienced by African Americans as a result of slavery and its lingering effects on American society today.”  The task force’s economic consultants estimated that Black Californians are owed $223,239 as compensation for the housing wealth gap.

Similarly, a separate study released in November estimated that payments of $828,055 per household would eliminate America’s racial wealth gap.

A Widening Wage Gap

For the last half-century, the Black community’s tried-and-true methods for economic advancement have been two-fold: either gaining access to higher education—and the salaries that come with post-secondary degrees—or being employed in jobs that pay union wages.

But even with those shifts, the racial wealth gap persists.

“If you look at employment in the United States—let’s say going back to the 1960s—and you look at the share of employment that’s allocated to Whites, to Blacks, and to Hispanics, one of the things that’s really kind of telling is the fact that the share of employment that’s allocated to Blacks and Hispanics has actually increased, but so has the wage gap between Whites and Hispanics, Whites and Blacks,” explains Romie Tribble, Jr., a professor of economics at Spelman College.

Tribble is the secretary of the National Economic Association (NEA), an organization of Black economists founded in 1969.

“One of the things we are looking at is why do these disparities still exist and why are they still widening when there are other indicators that suggest

that there are changes that are taking place,” he says.

Christopher, who is also an NEA member, says research shows that the U.S.’s higher-paying jobs tend to go to White workers. Even when Black workers manage to land one of these coveted positions, their pay scale is lower.

The Impact of Inflation

“Inflation is not only coming from the energy sector and the food sector. It’s also coming from the government borrowing sector.”

The analysis of data from the Federal Reserve Board’s 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances found that in addition to Black households having lower average incomes than their White peers, due to inflation, “a larger proportion of their total expenditures typically goes toward necessities such as food, housing, utilities, and transportation.”

As a result, “after paying for necessities, lower-income households have less left over in dollar terms to use for home or stock purchases,” the study concludes.

Christopher adds that rising Federal Reserve interest rates are likely to further pressure Black households.

“Inflation is not only coming from the energy sector and the food sector. It’s also coming from the government borrowing sector,” Christopher points out.

“A lot of Black people, in particular, they’re being crowded out, whereas you have Whites who continue to spend at the same pace,” she said. “Even though [the Federal Reserve] keeps raising interest rates, there’s a whole class of people who are not stopping spending and another class of people who can’t even afford to eat. We have a big divide.”

This reality, and uncertainty as to whether Black workers can maintain their current employment level, particularly as the cost of higher education rises and the number of union jobs shrinks, is further evidence of Black workers’ vulnerability.

“Are reparations the way to go to close the gap?” Tribble asks. “Or are there other ways to close this disparity? Is it about closing the employment disparity? Is it about closing the housing ownership disparity?”

KRISTY FERCHO

Attacks on a new reconstruction?

Right after the American Civil War, there was a Reconstruction Era that lasted until the Compromise of 1877. Basically, the focus was on bringing the southern states back into full political participation in the Union, and the goal was guaranteeing the rights of former slaves and ensuring new relationships between Whites and African Americans. This period ended March 31, 1877.

In a sense, this might be considered the golden age of African American participation in politics. There was a lull after that period, as well as a White supremacist backlash. After that time, Republicans became more conservative. Subsequently, there was an economic depression that especially impacted the South, and the Democratic Party gained control of the House of Representatives for the first time since the Civil War.

Fast forward to 2023. African Americans have gained political offices all over America. This “New Reconstruction” has seen the election of an African American president, vice president, Secretary of State, a number of mayors, state and national legislators, Supreme Court Justices, U.S. Attorney General, and three Black governors, among other gains. There are indications that some folks want to turn the political clock back. Recently, three legislators from Tennessee were cited for misconduct, and two were ousted from their positions in the State legislature. The two were African American; a White woman was spared. When asked why she didn’t meet the same fate as the African Americans, she indicated that it was connected with skin color!

This is what happened: Former State Representative Justin Jones and fellow Democratic lawmaker Justin Pearson were ejected by the Republican-controlled state House for their role in a protest calling for gun control after the March 27 Nashville Covenant School shooting. State Representative Gloria Johnson, who also participated in the protest, survived the expulsion fiasco.

Claims of racism followed because Johnson was not removed, while both Black legislators were removed. This is why, in the eyes of most people, the Black legislators are seen as victims of a cut-anddried case of bigotry on the part of the Republican-dominated State legislature.

Those who voted for the ousters say racism was not at the seat of the expulsions. They say the legislators broke the law. The Black legislators, however, say that their ouster is part of Republican voter suppression and disenfranchisement strategies.

Our children are losing their lives to gun violence at alarming rates, and there is reluctance on the part of Republican legislators to vote on common sense legislation that would help mitigate the problem. This is why the expulsion of Justin Jones and Justin Pearson was so egregious. They were addressing an issue that needed to be tackled.

As of the end of March 2023, there were 128 mass shootings. Moreover, over 150 people have died in mass shootings so far this year. One of the worst aspects of this situation is the fact that too many citizens have access to assault rifles. These are not needed for hunting, and they are not needed for general protection. For some reason, among Republicans, the political will does not exist to rid the population of these machines of war!

Our society appears to be devolving at an alarming rate. People are becoming meaner and are quick to settle disputes with lethal weapons. That’s why there is an urgency to address the gun control issue. Republican legislators are reluctant to ban assault weapons. To do nothing, and more importantly, to sanction their colleagues who strive to address the issue, is an atrocity!

Hindsight, therefore, makes the ejection of the Black legislators even more egregious. Apparently, Republicans care more about their guns than they do about the lives of American children!

Six days after being expelled from the Tennessee House of Representatives the two legislators were reinstated. But the horse has left the stable…a renewed push for much-needed gun control activism has been ignited by the pushback related to the expulsion incident. Let’s hope this marks the beginning of a serious consideration of strategies regarding controlling guns, and especially assault rifles. The existence of these lethal weapons in a society that is increasingly hostile is like pouring gasoline on a fire!

There is a saying that guns don’t kill people; it is people who kill people. We wonder why people don’t realize the obvious: that it is people with guns who kill people! A Luta Continua.

(Reprinted from the Chicago Crusader)

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

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—The names Ralph Yarl, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Ahmaud Arbery, and, undoubtedly, thousands of other African Americans whose lives have been snuffed out with little or no concern shown by those with the power to effect legislative change, remain as unholy legacies to the violence routinely visited upon the African American community.

As much as I am greatly distressed by the wholesale slaughter of my people, I have equally somber remorse concerning our loss of life under the specter of poor health—both physical and mental.  For as long as I can remember to the present, it has not been unusual to hear African Americans speak of a “little sugar in the blood” or express their concern about the consumption of too much salt.  There are other disease processes that we are mistakenly conditioned to treat as routine or normal.  It’s way past time for us to take a serious look at addressing the health issues that reduce the quality of our lives or shorten them.

The month of April is National Minority Health Month and May is Mental Health Awareness Month.  These two months should give ample reasons for significant reflection on our part.  Arguably, we have little control over most of the external violence that affects us, but we have greater—although not ultimate—control over the ravages of poor health.

Referencing a November 2022 JAMA (Journal of the American

“Our sense of belonging and prosperity relies on freedom from violence. That freedom requires confronting the threat that armed violence poses to our democracy and the hate-fueled rhetoric that feeds it. Moreover, keeping voters and elections safe from political violence is necessary to advance free, fair, and secure elections and ballot access.”

There is a fire blazing in the United States of America.

That the fire is burning through classrooms, law enforcement, the right to speak, the right to assemble and the right to vote. It is the fire of hatred, extremism, and domestic terrorism. It is the fire of White supremacy.

This year’s State of Black America® report, “Democracy in Peril: Confronting the Threat Within,” raises the alarm on extremist ideology taking root in the nation’s most vital institutions.

The mainstreaming of extremist ideology is an existential threat to American democracy, the rule of law, and decades of hard-won progress toward an equitable, inclusive, more perfect union. No longer limited to passing out photocopied leaflets on street corners or huddling in corners of the dark web, conspiracy-mongers and White nationalists openly spew their bile across social media and cable television.

They weave it into the public policy they impose on their constituents. It corrodes the trust between police and the military and the communities they are sworn to protect and serve.

Members of the U.S. Congress and state legislators across the country have promoted a conspiracy theory centered on a cabal of Satan-worshipping, cannibalistic child abusers that includes fellow lawmakers, Hollywood actors and business tycoons.

The leaked membership of a violent, anti-government militia group that led the January 6 insurrection included 81 people who either held or were running for public officer in 2022, 373 believed to be serving in law enforcement, and 117 believed to be active-duty military.

Restrictions on teaching the history of slavery and the Civil Rights Movement have grown so stringent that students planning a Black History

by Dr. John E. Warren

Medical Association) study, Usha

Lee McFarling, a national science correspondent for STAT, an American health-oriented news website, published an article entitled Brains of Black Americans age faster, study finds, with racial stressors a likely factor.

In her article, McFarling reports: The brains of Black adults in the U.S. age more quickly than those of White and Hispanic adults, showing features linked to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias as early as mid-life, according to a new study.

The study, published Monday in JAMA Neurology, analyzed the MRI scans of nearly 1,500 participants from two racially and ethnically diverse cohorts. It found that Black adults in mid-life—on average, in their mid-50s—were more likely than White or Hispanic adults of the same age to have a higher prevalence of white matter lesions, markers of cerebrovascular disease that are associated with cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.

Previous research has established stark racial disparities in Alzheimer’s disease, which affects more than 6 million Americans. Hispanic people are 1.5 times more likely to have the

disease than White people, while Black people are twice as likely to have the disease compared to those who are White. The new study strengthens the case that vascular disease may be especially detrimental to brain health in Black populations and may start to affect the brain far earlier in life than previously thought.

The researchers do not think the differences can be chalked up to genetic factors. They hypothesize that early brain aging in Black participants was linked to weathering—the accumulation of racial stressors over time due to discrimination, poverty, residential segregation, pollution, and fears about personal safety. Weathering has been linked to a number of poorer health outcomes, including depression, migraines, hypertension, and higher infant and maternal mortality.

An NAACP Crisis article, tells us:

• Four in 10 Black men aged 20 or older have high blood pressure – 30 percent higher than White men.

• Black men’s risk of stroke is 2x that of White men.

• Black men experience 40 percent higher cancer deaths than White men.

• Black Americans are 80 percent more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes and nearly twice as likely to be hospitalized than Whites.

This information requires more space than I’m allowed weekly.  Next week, we’ll look deeper into the health of Black Women.

(Dr. E. Faye Williams is President of The Dick Gregory Society and President Emerita of the National Congress of Black Women)

partisan interference in elections.

Palm Office Manager

Taylor Jr. Managing Editor

Johnson Sales Director

The attitude of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas only adds to concerns about non reported gifts from wealthy donors. In addition, it adds to the ongoing discussion of his wife Ginny Thomas’ involvement with the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Mrs. Thomas’ emails have already proven to be very telling as to her position with the “far right” and the false statements about a “stolen” Presidential election. It was already hard to believe that she never shared any of her views with her husband, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Considering the Justice’s conservative position on most issues, it became very hard to believe that the two persons in that marriage didn’t discuss politics. Now we find a trail of gifts and favors to the Justice, spanning decades, as well as a personal real estate deal involving the home of the mother of Justice Thomas having been sold to his billionaire donor with no re-

Month in Alabama were not permitted to reference any events prior to 1970. White supremacists committed 22 racially-motivated murders last year, including the 10 who were shot in a Buffalo supermarket by an 18-year old under the influence of the “Great Replacement” conspiracy promoted by prominent media figures.

From sea to shining sea, this flame of hate and manipulation which gave currency to foreign interference in the 2016 election grew into a five-alarm wildfire after the 2020 election when conspiracy theories about voter fraud in major cities such as Philadelphia, Detroit, and Atlanta, and in majority Black districts in battleground states fueled the greatest assault on voting rights since Reconstruction.

Hate crimes in the largest U.S. cities soared by 44 percent last year, according to the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University in San Bernardino.  Yet there has been a 22 percent decrease in the number of reporting agencies; some of the largest cities in the country, including New York and Los Angeles, did not participate, nor did nearly the entire state of Florida or most of California. Even more alarming, the FBI has warned agents that White supremacist and anti-government militia groups may be seeking to infiltrate law enforcement including police and sheriff’s departments throughout the nation.

If hate groups can infiltrate law enforcement, then our democracy is truly threatened. Lawmakers in 39 states introduced more than 400 bills intended to restrict, dilute, and undermine not only the votes of Black people, but of Latinos, disabled Americans, students, and the elderly.  Another 150 bills introduced in 27 states would allow

Many of those same lawmakers who spouted conspiracy theories about the results of the election to justify voter suppression are actively engaged in suppressing American history and the reality of systemic and institutional racism. Since September 2020, more than 200 local, state, and federal government entities have introduced 670 bills, resolutions, executive orders, opinion letters, statements, and other measures to suppress and censor books, knowledge, history, and truth.

This movement may have reached peak absurdity when a group of Texas educators, in a delusional fit, proposed to the State Board of Education that slavery should be taught as “involuntary relocation.”

Earlier this year, Florida banned AP African American studies from being taught in its school, calling it “historically inaccurate.”  Despite the College Board’s claim that Florida’s decision had no impact on its decision to revise the course, it subsequently removed the Black Lives Movement and a list of prominent Black authors from the curriculum.

Now is the time for us to put this fire out.

We can put this fire out by demanding a new set of voting laws that ban voter suppression, gerrymandering and vote dilution, called the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

We can put this fire out by standing strong against the censorship of books, the suppression of the truth about slavery and discrimination, and suppression of the contributions of Black Americans.

We can put this fire out by banning assault weapons and insisting on background checks and red flag laws to prevent violent and unstable people from having access to guns.

We can put this fire out by enacting the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to redefine and enhance public safety.

We have, as a movement and as a nation, the strength, the intelligence, the determination, the resilience, the energy and the aptitude, the foresight, and the attitude to extinguish the flames of hatred, extremism, and White supremacy forever.

cord of the sale being reported, as required by law. Also, no reporting of income from the sale. The excuses offered by Justice Thomas, when he chooses to give one, reflect neither remorse nor concern about the appearance of such actions from a Justice seated on the highest court in the land and expected to lead by example.

Justice Thomas can only be removed from office by death, resignation or impeachment. He is not expected to resign. Justice Roberts, the Presiding Justice, is not expected to take any action and, therefore, the only recourse is impeachment as provided by the United States Constitution. So far, the only Federal Judge removed from office by impeachment was Judge Alcee Hastings of the Southern District of Florida in 1989. The issue is not whether the Senate has the votes to convict Thomas, or if a Republican controlled Congress will allow the impeachment proceedings to clear the House of

Representatives, as required by the Constitution, but the need to show the American people that some elected officials still take their Oath of Office seriously enough to make the effort for removal from the highest Court in the Land.

While the United States Constitution does not have a recall provision, each state which elects individuals to the U.S. Congress does have such a provision in its State Constitution. It is time for the voters of each state to take a look at the people they have elected to some of the highest offices in the land and for the people of each state to consider recalling those elected officials who are ignoring the will of the people on such issues as gun control, abortion and voter suppression. While there may not be enough votes to remove many of the Republicans in state and national office, the idea of a Recall against them should be enough to let them know the American people have had enough of the attack on democracy.  Something to think about.

A message to today’s Black conservatives

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—It should come to no surprise that the head of the Alabama Department of Early Education, Barbara Cooper, was recently compelled to resign over a teacher resource guide which Gov. Kay Ivey denounced as too “woke”.

The book in question is a widely-used resource guide for early childhood educators that informs teachers that the “early education system is not immune” from the forces of “systemic and institutional racism” embedded in the history and development of the United States. Cooper’s refusal to accept the book’s removal forced her to leave. Gov. Ivey’s anti-woke views is in agreement with the shifting attitudes away from any type of racial sensitivity training and awareness. It brings us to a valid question regarding Black conservatives. How do Black conservatives align themselves with the changing cultural landscape within the Republican Party and the rise of the MAGA movement?

There are specific reasons why moderate and prominent Black conservatives such as Michael Steele and Colin Powell separated themselves from the GOP. Michael Steele made history twice. He became the first African American to be elected to statewide office in Maryland, where he was elected lieutenant governor from 2003 to 2007. He was later chosen as the first Black chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) from 2009 to 2011. Under Steele’s leadership, the RNC broke fundraising records with more than $198 million raised during the 2010 congressional cycle; and Republicans won 63 House seats representing the largest pickup since 1938. Steele’s commitment to grassroots organizing and party-building at the state and local levels produced 12 governorships and the greatest share of state legislative seats since 1928, reflecting a pickup of more than 600 seats.

Today, Steele has distanced himself from the Republican Party he once led, as he has spoken out against former President Donald Trump’s racially divisive politics. While he still remains a Republican, Steele supported Joe Biden for president in 2020. He is the first to admit he is out of step with the 2023 version of the GOP who he believes is not salvageable in its current form. Colin Powell, on the other hand, left the Republican Party.

Powell was a political independent during his military career but, after retirement in 1993 and a bestselling memoir, he was aggressively pursued by both Democrats and Republicans as a potential presidential candidate. He sided with the Republicans, explaining how he aligned with them on fiscal responsibility, small government and low taxes. At heart, he was a Black conservative who disagreed with the GOP on issues of inclusion. “I believe I can help the party of Lincoln move once again close to the spirit of Lincoln,” Powell said as he announced he would not run for president in 1996. It was a line that was, in the words of the New York Times, a “clear reference to the issues of race, opportunity and social welfare that had him at odds with ranking conservative Republican ideologues who threatened fierce resistance to his candidacy.” For Powell, it was the global risk from Trump plus the threat to democracy, which alienated him from the Republican Party. The deadly insurrection by a pro-Trump mob at the U.S. Capitol was the final straw. At the time of his death, in an acknowledgment of how far the party had moved away from his views, Powell no longer considered himself a Republican.

As we strive to become the “perfect union”, a respected public servant such as Colin Powell should never feel compelled to leave his political party due to the divisive influence of Trumpism. The same is true for Barbara Cooper who was forced to resign due to the hostile anti-woke movement perpetuated by Trump and his MAGA supporters. In 1998, on the 50th anniversary of President Harry Truman’s Executive Order 9981, General Colin Powell spoke about the impact of Truman’s decision to desegregate the military made on his life. Every president is a product of their environment, including Harry Truman. Truman once wrote, “I am strongly of the opinion that Negros ought to be in Africa, yellow men in Asia and White men in Europe and America.” Truman came by those beliefs from his upbringing in Missouri where his grandparents owned slaves and he grew up in a home that openly detested Reconstruction and Abraham Lincoln. While he developed an abiding belief in White supremacy at an early age, Truman as president eventually acquired the spirit of Lincoln.

The beating and murders of recently returned African American World War II veterans in the South captured the nation’s attention. Truman was moved to appropriately act, but it took pressure from Black civil rights groups who effectively articulated the Black experience to a man who was a White supremacist. “My stomach turned over when I learned that Negro soldiers, just back from overseas, were being dumped out of army trucks in Mississippi and beaten,” Truman said. “Whatever my inclinations as a native of Missouri might have been, as president I know this is bad. I shall fight to end evils like this.” Donald Trump like Truman is a White supremacist who is a product of his environment. Where Truman proved to have a conscience, Trump continues to promote racial division. As leaders of the today’s Republican Party continue to show an unwilling to embrace the spirit of Lincoln, will Black conservatives stay aligned or distance themselves from the party?

(David W. Marshall is founder of the faith based organization, TRB:

Amazon decided in 2019 not to construct a second headquarters in New York. Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York, stated that Amazon would have brought 25,000 to 40,000 well-paying jobs and nearly $30 billion in new revenue to finance transit improvements, new housing, schools, and numerous other quality-of-life improvements.

Cuomo attributed this lost economic opportunity to “a small group of politicians who prioritized their own narrow political interests over the community.”

The political opposition to Amazon believed that the world’s wealthiest company did not deserve the enormous tax breaks that New York offered to entice the company away from other communities that offered their own incentives.

Cuomo argued that Amazon would have brought sufficient investment to New York to justify the tax breaks and establish New York as a tech center to rival San Francisco.

US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was among the most vocal opponents of tax breaks for Amazon. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez celebrated when New York lost the Amazon contract, telling her supporters, “Today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers and their neighbors defeated Amazon’s corporate greed, its worker exploitation, and the richest man in the world.”

According to Ocasio-Cortez, their opposition to Amazon did not cost New York jobs; rather, it prevented “the richest man in the world” from exploiting workers in those positions. Ocasio-Cortez and her cohorts have demonstrated that their contempt for the rich exceeds their concern for the community.

Spread the news! During an April 12th Meet the Candidates forum, District 9 Pittsburgh city council candidate Khari Mosley said if elected, he will convene periodic community meetings in the district.

At a Meet and Greet three days later, District 10 Allegheny County councilman Dewitt Walton, said, among many other things, if he is reelected to office, he will hold “two town hall meetings” each year at “Homewood Library.”

Both were replying to requests from community residents.

We must demand similar commitments from all Black candidates running for city council, the school board, state house or county council to hold town hall meetings in the respective political district they are running to represent.

And we must demand a similar commitment from local Black elected officials now in office, that is from members of the Pittsburgh Black Elected Officials Coalition, the PBEOC.

Town hall meetings sponsored by elected officials in their respective districts are extremely important events for community residents and institutions to assemble and also get to know each other, in neighborhoods like 2023 Homewood with large transient populations this is especially important.

At such meetings elected official and community residents exchange information and opinions on important issues downtown at city hall and in the community. Properly organized, such meetings can help to significantly increase the political influence and clout of

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s disdain is not solely directed at the wealthy. It also targets employees, whom the labor movement has recently deemed beneath contempt.

After the police killing of unarmed Black man George Floyd in 2020, Democratic politicians began to take activists’ demand to defund police departments seriously. Despite Democratic politicians’ claims that defunding the police was merely a matter of reallocating funds from police departments to community services, it was ultimately a punitive measure.

More punitive measures were taken behind the scenes.

Frida Garza reported in The Guardian, as protests against police brutality continue across the United States, a new strategy is emerging to combat the enormous influence of police unions: expelling them from organized labor if they cannot resolve racism within their ranks.

A labor historian, Christopher Hayes, stated that the Police Benevolent Association, which represents police officers in New York City and other communities, and the Fraternal Order of Police are not like traditional labor unions. They are almost exclusively self-interested and have no visible commitment to social justice.

In other words, police unions and their

employees are an impediment to social justice and should be treated with contempt and no support.

For instance, New York City Mayor

Eric Adams and the city’s largest police union recently announced a new contract that will provide rank-and-file officers with their first pay raise in six years. The mayor happened to announce the city’s new contract with the police during the same week that city agencies received directives to reduce their budgets by 4 percent. A group of City Council members criticized the police for receiving funding at a time when other agencies were projected to lose money. Adams refuted the criticism and argued that increasing NYPD pay would help a department that has struggled to attract and retain employees over the years.

Adams added that the pay raise would improve the quality of life for these employees. Under normal conditions, the Left fights for higher wages to enhance the quality of life for workers, but not for those they consider on the wrong side of social justice.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez complained that increasing police funding while eliminating services makes the city less safe. She also stressed that New York is now at the point where most police officers are paid more than a teacher with a master’s degree. That’s Ocasio-Cortez’s biggest problem.

It’s not the police raise per se; it’s the fact that police officers will earn more than school teachers, which, in Ocasio-Cortez’s worldview, is an injustice that must be stopped like the Amazon deal.

elected officials and of the community.

Also, town hall meetings, among other things, make our elected officials more accessible to the community and more accountable to the community. Both of these are of the utmost importance to the community.

But that has been conspicuously absent in Pittsburgh Black elected politics over the years. Look in Pittsburgh’s largely-Black city council, school board, Allegheny County council, and Pennsylvania state house districts.

How many in-district, public meetings have been held in each of them over the past decade?

We all know by countless past examples that a community meeting can be a disaster. They turn you off just like they have turned off the community. So, right now, in the middle of Campaign 2023 we must struggle even harder to change that.

Here are some key demands we must make. We must demand that our elected officials set on a permanent basis the annual date, time and place for their respective meetings. That allows all parties involved to prepare. We must reject last minute, poorly organized town hall meetings.

Equally important the community at large is obligated to do its homework and come prepared to a worthwhile important contribution. For example, at the April 15 Meet and Greet, cited above, a Black woman from the East Hills neighborhood raised some very important issues about affordable housing in East Hills. She was well prepared and that made a very important contribution to the Meet and Greet dialogue.

The type of town hall meetings we are must demanding do not in any way relieve our elected officials of their obligations to sponsor other activities in the community, or from coming to the community whenever the need arises.

The United States is in the grip of it most severe internal political conflict since the US Civil War. In this dangerous political climate, the Pittsburgh Black community must define, defend, and promote its social, economic and political interests. Town hall assemblies play a vital, indispensable role in this on-going process.

The Pittsburgh African American community has a long, long history of organizing productive community meetings of all kinds. From this history we take the “best practices” as lessons for today and tomorrow.

Now, you give further thought to this proposal. Discuss it with family and associates. Add to it. Refine it.

The Pittsburgh black community has the potential to help set the standards for conducting productive town hall meetings, and other kinds of public meetings across the national Black community. Let’s do that. Spread the news.

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—It’s been over 30 years since Justice Clarence Thomas was confirmed to the Supreme Court seat once held by the great Thurgood Marshall, and it’s safe to say that his reputation for unethical behavior— which was poor to start with—has only gotten worse.

What are we supposed to think about a justice’s career that started with allegations of sexual harassment, moved on to extreme coziness with conservative political donors, then multiple instances of questionable gifts and payments to himself and his wife, and now revelations that years of free trips and perks lavished on him by right-wing billionaire Harlan Crow went unreported—despite laws that clearly say they should be? Even after the news of Crow’s largesse first broke, it got worse: Crow had also bought Thomas’s mother’s house in Savannah, a helpful real estate deal that Thomas never reported, either.

We could think that Thomas either doesn’t know or doesn’t care about the ethical standards expected of a Supreme Court justice, or the laws that apply to him as a public employee. But Thomas is a graduate of Yale Law School. Ignorance is not a believable defense here.

So we have to conclude that Thomas just doesn’t care about the rules, or thinks that he can ignore them.

That’s not the kind of person who belongs on the Supreme Court. If he wanted to do the decent and honorable thing, Thomas would admit his wrongdoing and resign. Calls for him to resign are coming from pro-democracy groups including the one I lead, top media out-

lets, and members of Congress.

But Thomas doesn’t have a history of doing the decent and honorable thing.

So that means others will have to hold him accountable. The question is how.

There are plenty of calls for impeachment, but with a Republican-controlled House the option would appear to be off the table. Meanwhile the Senate will hold hearings and may call Thomas himself to testify. That is an important step. I would add that two other steps are absolutely essential right now: a Justice Department investigation and Supreme Court reform including an enforceable code of ethics.

The Justice Department has clear grounds to investigate Thomas under a federal disclosure law that applies to government officials including Supreme Court justices. The law authorizes DOJ to pursue both civil penalties and criminal fines from government officials who fail to report gifts as legally required.

Thomas has claimed that the generosity he received from Harlan Crow was just “personal hospitality”—not subject to reporting. Even if some of that were true, some perks, like free use of Crow’s private jet for Thomas’s personal travel, and the real estate transaction in Georgia are, according to most ethics experts,

clearly in a different category.

The Justice Department can give a definitive answer as to whether Thomas’s actions were not only unsavory, unethical, improper and all the rest – but also absolutely illegal. And it can call for imposition of a monetary fine. Even more important than the cash fine would be the impetus a finding of guilt would give to any effort to remove Thomas.

And then, to help ensure that trust in the Court isn’t further eroded by scandal after scandal, we need to have Supreme Court reform. That means an enforceable code of ethics specifically for the Court, written to address the full range of ethical questions that could ever apply to justices’ behavior.

In the longer term we should also have Supreme Court expansion, to counteract the far-right capture of the Court that was achieved by totally unethical means. But that is a larger conversation.

It has been painful to watch Thomas’s corrupt behavior and its effect on the Supreme Court. This is especially true given the historic significance of the seat he occupies. We need judges on all our courts—not just the highest—who act with humility and who understand the impact of their decisions on everyday Americans. Courts really do make a difference in the lives of everyday people. They should be led by trustworthy, fair-minded judges who value equality and justice, uphold the Constitution, and protect civil and human rights for all Americans.

That’s not Clarence Thomas.

(Svante Myrick is President of People For the American Way.)

David W. Marshall

FIRE LIEUTENANT MT. LEBANON, PA

The Municipality of Mt. Lebanon will accept applications for the position of fire lieutenant beginning February 13, 2023 . Deadline to submit an application, resume, certifications, and complete the on-line written exam will be May 12, 2023.

This is a lateral entry supervisory position requiring substantial fire service knowledge, skills, and background. Job responsibilities include supervision of volunteer staff, fire apparatus operation, fire suppression, fire prevention, public education, rescue operations, and hazardous material and emergency medical response. Starting salary is $76,310.00 with excellent benefits and pension. To review requirements and apply, go to https://mtlebanon.bamboohr.com/ hiring/jobs/150.

Mt. Lebanon is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

CHIEF UNITED STATES PROBATION OFFICER

The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania is seeking a qualified individual for the full-time career position of Chief United States Probation Officer located in Pittsburgh, PA.

The Chief United States Probation Officer is directly responsible for the administration, management, leadership, and supervision of all daily activities of the United States Probation Office within the twenty-five counties comprising the Western District of Pennsylvania. The Chief United States Probation Officer is a high-level management position that serves under the administrative direction and supervision of the Chief Judge of the United States District Court. The position has an annual salary range of $165,902$220,879. For a detailed position description, including representative duties, required and preferred qualifications, and instructions on how to apply, visit the Court’s website at http://www.pawd.uscourts.gov/ employment The Court is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values diversity in the workplace, and encourages all qualified applicants to apply.

PPG Industries, Inc., headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, has work-athome Procurement Analytics Manager position (w/ability to telecommute w/approp. telecommuting sys.; remote worksite must be w/in commuting distance of Pittsburgh, PA for weekly trips to corp. office) responsible for identifying, dvlpng, & maintaining analytical tools as well as establishing data intel. for global category teams & strategic mgmt reporting. Apply online at ppg.com.

CiberSQL, headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, has work-from-home Quality Assurance Analyst position (w/ ability to telecommute w/approp. telecommuting sys.) responsible for anlyzng, dvlpng, & tstng sftwr apps in support of clients’ end-user bus., info. design, & tchnlgy needs. Send resume & cvr ltr to hr@cibersql.com.

SOUTH FAYETTE TWP. SCHOOL DISTRICT is seeking a BUSINESS, COMPUTER, AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TEACHER (HIGH SCHOOL)

Positions available at the start of the 2023-2024 School Year Complete job descriptions and directions on how to apply are available at: www.southfayette.org

Applications must be received by 4:00 PM May 2, 2023

LEGAL ADVERTISING

Legal Notices

JANET GALLA-SCHIBIK, deceased, of McKeesport, No. 7601 of 2022 . Kelly D.

Galla, a/k/a Kelly Simonetta, has been appointed Executrix by Order dated November 28, 2022 Peter B. Lewis, Neighborhood Legal Services, 928 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15222, Counsel.

Estate of DANIEL J. JOHNSON (deceased) of Pittsburgh, PA 15235, No.01469 of 2023,

TOIA M. SMITH, 1434 Oberlin Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, Executor or to Sheila M. Ford,

Estate of DENNIS JOZWIAK A/K/A DENNIS M. JOZWIAK (deceased) of 353 Raymond Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15218, No.02-2302205, Edward Jozwiak, Jr., 7702 Somerhill

Estate of

America’s Best Weekly 315 East Carson Street Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Classifieds

Ext.

April 26, 2023

City of Pittsburgh – Office of Management and Budget 414 Grant Street Room 501 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-255-2667

ANNOUNCEMENTS Public Notice CORRECTIVE NOTICE TO NOTICE OF FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT AND NOTICE OF INTENT TO REQUEST RELEASE OF FUNDS April 26, 2023 City of Pittsburgh – Office of Management and Budget 414 Grant Street Room 501 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 412-255-2667

This notice shall serve to correct information provided on March 1, 2023 for the combined Notice of Finding of No Significant Impact and Notice of Intent to Request Release of Funds for the Section 18 demolition/disposition of the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh’s (HACP) Scattered Site Unit at 6535 Rowan Street in the City of Pittsburgh with the use of HACP’s Moving To Work (MTW) funds.

The prior notice stated, “On or about Tuesday March 21, 2023, the City of Pittsburgh will submit a request to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to release Federal funds under Title 1 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 as amended for the purpose of demolition and blight removal, described below.” In order to comply with HUD policy, the sentence should read, “On or about Monday May 15, 2023, the City of Pittsburgh will submit a request to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to release Federal funds under Title 1 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 as amended for the purpose of demolition and blight removal, described below.”

The prior notice stated, “All comments received by Thursday, December 15, 2022 will be considered by the City of Pittsburgh prior to authorizing submission of a request for release of funds.” In order to comply with HUD policy, the sentence should read, “All comments received by Thursday, May 11, 2023 will be considered by the City of Pittsburgh prior to authorizing submission of a request for release of funds.”

The prior notice also stated, “REQUEST FOR RELEASE OF FUNDS (1) – CDBG PROJECT. In order to comply with HUD policy, the sentence should read, “REQUEST FOR RELEASE OF FUNDS (1) – “MTW PROJECT”.

The prior notice also stated, “FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT (2) – CDBG PROJECT”. In order to comply with HUD policy, the sentence should read, “FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT (2) – “MTW PROJECT”.

The prior notice stated, “Objections must be prepared and submitted in accordance with the required procedures (24 CFR Part 58, Sec. 58.76) and shall be addressed to the HUD Field Office of Community Planning and Development in Pittsburgh at Phillip.E.McKeough@hud.gov /(412) 644-5846 regarding HUD CDBG funds. Potential objectors should contact the HUD Field Office of Community Planning and Development in Pittsburgh via email or phone as given above to verify the actual last day of the objection period.” In order to comply with HUD policy, the sentence should read, “Objections must be prepared and submitted in accordance with the required procedures (24 CFR Part 58, Sec. 58.76) and shall be addressed to the HUD Field Office of Public Housing in Pittsburgh at PittsburghPIH.ER@hud.gov regarding MTW funds. Potential objectors should contact the HUD Field Office of Public Housing in Pittsburgh via email or phone as given above to verify the actual last day of the objection period.”

The prior notice stated public comments should be submitted to: Whitney Finnstrom City of Pittsburgh, 414 Grant Street, Room 501 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (412) 255-2211 OR Whitney.Finnstrom@pittsburghpa.gov.

Any public comments should now be submitted to: Kelly Russell City of Pittsburgh, 414 Grant Street, Room 501 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (412) 255-2667 OR Kelly.russell@pittsburghpa.gov

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

REQUEST FOR RELEASE OF FUNDS (1) – CDBG PROJECT

On or about Monday May 15, 2023, the City of Pittsburgh will submit a request to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to release Federal funds under Title 1 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 as amended for the real estate project described below. 3366 Ajax Street is a URA-funded HAP project. HAP is the Homeowner Assistance Program, which provides financial assistance to eligible homeowners for rehabilitation and improving residential owner-occupied properties. 3366 Ajax Street, located at 3366 Ajax Street Pittsburgh, PA 15213, will consist of roof and gutter replacement, and installation of new windows and vinyl siding. The project is funded by URA’s HAP program and will consist of an estimated total of $45,000 in FY2022 CDBG funds; the estimated total project cost is $45,000

FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT (2) – CDBG PROJECT

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

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Any individual, group, or agency may submit written comments on the ERR to: Kelly Russell City of Pittsburgh, 414 Grant Street, Room 501 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 (412) 255-2667 OR Kelly.russell@pittsburghpa.gov

All comments received by Thursday, May 11, 2023 will be considered by the City of Pittsburgh prior to authorizing submission of a request for release of funds. Comments should specify which Notice (Request for Release of Funds 1 or Finding of No Significant Impact 2) they are addressing.

ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION

The City of Pittsburgh certifies to HUD that Ed Gainey in his capacity as Mayor, City of Pittsburgh, consents to accept the jurisdiction of the Federal Courts if an action is brought to enforce responsibilities in relation to the environmental review process and that these responsibilities have been satisfied. HUD’s approval of the certification satisfies its responsibilities under NEPA and related laws and authorities and allows the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh and the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh to use development funds.

OBJECTIONS TO RELEASE OF FUNDS

HUD will accept objections to its release of funds and the City of Pittsburgh certification for a period of fifteen (15) days following the anticipated submission date or its actual receipt of the request (whichever is later) only if they are on one of the following bases: (a) the certification was not executed by the Certifying Officer of the City of Pittsburgh; (b) the City of Pittsburgh has omitted a step or failed to make a decision or finding required by HUD regulations at 24 CFR part 58; (c) the grant recipient or other participants in the development process have committed funds, incurred costs or undertaken activities not authorized by 24 CFR Part 58 before approval of a release of funds by HUD; or (d) another Federal agency acting pursuant to 40 CFR Part 1504 has submitted a written finding that the project is unsatisfactory from the standpoint of environmental quality. Objections must be prepared and submitted in accordance with the required procedures (24 CFR Part 58, Sec. 58.76) and shall be addressed to the HUD Field Office of Community Planning and Development in Pittsburgh at Phillip.E.McKeough@hud.gov / (412) 644-5846 regarding HUD CDBG funds.

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

Ed Gainey Mayor City of Pittsburgh

NOTICE

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Notice is hereby given to the following persons, their heirs, successors or assigns, and to all persons whatsoever, that the City of Pittsburgh, by John Miller, Assistant City Solicitor, 328 City County Building has petitioned the Court of Orders quieting title to the following tax acquired real estate, pursuant to Act No. 171, approved December 11, 1984.

GD – 23-004731 CITY OF PITTSBURGH Vs

Doyle E Brown; Betty Williams; Mildred Jackson; Nathaniel Brown; Lafayette Brown; Lawrence Brown; Pa Attorney General; PA Department of Revenue; their heirs, successors, assigns and respondents. 26st Ward, Pittsburgh. 2445 Snyder Street. Block & Lot 45-L-46. Easements, or claims of easements, not shown by the Public Records. Title to that part of the premises lying in the bed and right of way of all roads, driveways and alleyways is subject to public and private rights therein. Rights and privileges as set forth in deed book volume 259, page 432 and deed book volume 334, page 53. Subject to all matters shown on the plan as recorded in the department of real estate office of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in Plan Book Volume 3, Page 240. Subject to All Additional Easements, Encroachments, Agreements, Etc. Of Record.

GD –2023-004662 CITY OF PITTSBURGH Vs

Arthur E. Schmidt; GLS Capital; National Tax Funding; PWSA; Caulis Negris, LLC; their heirs, successors, assigns and respondents. 24th Ward, Pittsburgh. 1815 Lowrie Street; A. Reineman Plan Pt. 39-40 Lot 14.67 X 80 in all Lowrie Street. Block & Lot 48-J-304. All roads public and private affecting promises and the rights of others therein. Subject to all additional Easements, Encroachments, Agreements, Etc. of Record.

GD –2023-004740 CITY OF PITTSBURGH Vs

Joseph C. McLone; their heirs, successors and assigns. 10th Ward, Pittsburgh. Broad Street. Johns and Evans Plan 39. Lot 20 x 100 Broad Street between Winebiddle and Millvale Avenues. Block & Lot 50-K-173. Subject to all matters shown on the Plan as recorded in the Recorder’s Office of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in Plan Book Volume 4, Page 278-1/2. Subject to all additional easements, encroachments, agreements, etc. of record.

GD –2023-004757 CITY OF PITTSBURGH Vs

William A. Parker; their heirs, successors, assigns and respondents. 21st Ward, Pittsburgh Lot 18.89 X 47 Lamont St. Block & Lot 22-G46. Rights of Others I n And To Private Alleys. The Description of The Land Extends to Points Within the Right of Way Of Said Private Alleys. Subject to All Additional Easements, Encroachments, Agreements, Etc. Of Record.

GD –2023-004748 CITY OF PITTSBURGH Vs John Jones, aka Johnnie Jones, aka John A. Jones, aka John N. Jones, aka Johnny L. Jones, aka John Jones, Jr., aka Johnnie Jones, Jr.; Ernestine Jones; Lori Ann Gigante, As Executrix; PWSA; Commonwealth of PA Inheritance Tax Division; United States Attorney; PA Attorney General; Caulis Negris; GLS Capital; Allegheny County Courthouse-Criminal Division; Commonwealth of PA Department of Labor & Industry; Midland Funding, LLC; Capital One Bank (USA) N.A.; Woodland Hills School District; North Braddock Borough; National Tax Funding; their heirs, successors, assigns and respondents 11th Ward, Pittsburgh 6208 Huntress St Watkins Plan PT 27 Loat 31.92 X Avg 48.87 X 76.75 RR Huntress St Block & Lot 83-M-328.

All matters set forth in the A. L. Watkins plan of lots, as recorded in the recorder’s office of Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, in plan book volume 11, page 4. Rights of ingress, egress and regress over an easement or passageway, set forth in deed from Otto w. Gigante, et ux. to John Jones, et ux., dated July 14, 1982 and recorded in deed book volume 6511, page 172. subject to all additional easements, encroachments, agreements, etc. of record.

GD –2023-004759

CITY OF PITTSBURGH Vs

Yolanda Williams; Brandon Williams; Charron Williams; US Bank National Association; Allegheny County Court Records - Criminal Division; their heirs, successors, assigns and respondents 18th Ward, Pittsburgh. Peach Way. McLain and Maple Plan Part 118. Lot 25 X 42.16 Peach Way corner Ceres Way. Block & Lot 14-A-247. Excepting and reserving that portion of the premises lying in and along the roadbed(S); Subject to public and private rights thereon. Subject to all matters shown in Plan Book Volume 3, Page 234, if applicable. Subject to all roads, public or private, affecting said premises. Subject to all additional easements, encroachments, agreements, etc. of record.

GD –2023-004754

CITY OF PITTSBURGH Vs Jackie Robinson; Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Inheritance Tax Division; PA Attorney General; their heirs, successors, assigns and respondents 23rd Ward, Pittsburgh Plan Pt. 39 Lot 22 X 69 Salter Way. Block & Lot 24-F-47. All roads, public or private, affecting the premises. All matters set forth on the Verena Iten Plan of Lots, Recorded in the Recorder’s office of Allegheny county in plan book volume 2, page 130. Subject to all additional easements, encroachments, agreements, etc. of record.

GD –2023-004753

CITY OF PITTSBURGH Vs Lisa Fields; Stephen Gruszewski; Allegheny County CourthouseCriminal Division; Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., As Trustee for First Franklin Mortgage Loan Trust 2006-FF17, Mortgage Pass- Through Certificates, Series 2006-FF17. their heirs, successors, assigns and respondents. 17th Ward, Pittsburgh. 1519 Saint Patrick St. 11 Lot 36 x 57 Quarry Run Rd Bet Morgan & Plank Rd. Block & Lot 13-A-2. Rights or claims of parties in possession of the land not shown by the public record. All roads, public or private, affecting the premises Subject to All Additional Easements, Encroachments, Agreements, Etc. of Record.

WHEREUPON the Court granted a rule on the aforesaid persons, and all persons, whatsoever, to appear and show cause within thirty days from this notice why the title of the CITY OF PITTSBURGH to the aforesaid real estate should not be adjudicated and decreed valid and indefeasible as against all mortgages, ground-rents, rights, title, interest in or claims against the aforesaid real estate, and to further show cause why the sale of the said real estate should not be made free and clear of all the aforesaid claims whatsoever.

JOHN MILLER ASSISTANT CITY SOLICITOR CITY OF PITTSBURGH

LEGAL ADVERTISING Bids/Proposals

NOTICE TO BIDDERS

The Sports & Exhibition Authority will receive sealed bids for Food Service Custom Banquet Tables and Bar Carts as identified below for the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The contract for this work will be with the Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Inquiries regarding the bidding should be made to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center Administrative Office, 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd., Pittsburgh, PA 15222, Attention: Carter Swegman, E-mail: cswegman@pittsburghcc.com, Telephone: 412-325-6154

This Advertisement applies to the following

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 May 12, 2023 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)

Bid Number Bid Name

1 B23-04-25A LRV Axle Box Roller Bearings

2 B23-04-26A Microsoft Enterprise Agreement

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

Meeting ID: 225 398 885 807

Passcode: uoWeYD

Or call in (audio only)

412-927-0245

Phone Conference ID: 386 600 986#

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 via tele-conference on each of the above items at 10:00 AM, April 27, 2023 through your web browser via Microsoft Teams video conference.

Join on your computer, mobile app or room device

Meeting ID: 242 259 554 049

Passcode: TfaMLN

Or call in (audio only)

412-927-0245

Phone Conference ID: 603 672 616#

Attendance at this meeting is not mandatory, but is strongly encouraged.

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 BRENTWOOD BOROUGH OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Sealed Proposals will be received by the Brentwood Borough, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania for:

2023 Road Paving Program 18-439-619.

Project Description: Project consists of:

The project requires the preparation and resurfacing of approximately 12,500 S.Y. of various existing roads throughout the Borough. The base bid includes approximately 7,000 S.Y. of roto-milling and profiling; Keyways approximately 300 L.F., base repairs, if necessary, approximately 100 S.Y., placing approximately 1,000 tons of 19mm Superpave Binder, placing approximately 7,000 S.Y. of 9.5mm Superpave Fine Graded 0 to 0.3 million ESAL’s Wearing Surface; traffic control; lawn restoration; and other items incidental to the project. Mobilization, Bonding, and Insurances shall be considered incidental to the work performed under the scope of the Contract and shall not be considered additional pay items to the Contractor.

All Proposals must be submitted electronically on Pennbid.com before 10:00 A.M., prevailing time on Friday, May 12, 2023.

Performance and Labor and Material Payment Bonds, along with Public Liability and Property Damage Certificates of Insurance in the amounts specified, as well as Certificates of Workman’s Compensation must be filed with the executed Agreement.

Pennsylvania Prevailing Wages are required to be paid on this project.

All bidders must be PennDOT pre-qualified as a prime contractor and meet the work classification codes of E, F, and F1. All bids submitted must have the contractor’s valid pre-qualification certification attached to the outside of the bid or it will be rejected. Proposals to receive consideration must be accompanied by a Certified Check or Bidder’s Bond from a Surety Company authorized to do business in Pennsylvania, made to the order of the Brentwood Borough in an amount equal to ten percent (10%) of the total amount of the Proposal as a guarantee that, if the Proposal is accepted, the successful Bidder will enter into an Agreement within 15 days after Notice of the Award of the Contract.

The Proposals must be made to the Brentwood Borough, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and shall remain firm for a period of sixty (60) days. No Bidder may withdraw his Proposal during the sixty (60) day period without forfeiting his Bid guarantee.

The Owner reserves the right to reject any or all Proposals, or any part thereof, for any reason, and also reserves the right to waive any informality therein.

George Zboyovsky, PE, ICMA-CM Borough Manager

OFFICIAL BID NOTICE

TOWNSHIP OF UPPER ST. CLAIR

Sealed and separate bids will be received by the Township of Upper St. Clair, 1820 McLaughlin Run Road, Upper St. Clair, PA 15241, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania until 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, June 6, 2023, and the BIDS will be publicly opened and read thereafter in the Township Building at the same address for the following:

UPPER ST. CLAIR VOLUNTEER

FIRE DEPARTMENT – STATION-1

– RE-ROOFING WORK

Please refer to https://www.twpusc. org/business/bid_information.php, for details regarding specifications and Bidding requirements.

Matthew R. Serakowski Township Manager

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 May 16, 2023, until 2:00 P.M., local prevailing time for:

Service & Maintenance Contract at Various Schools, Facilities and Properties:

- Extraordinary General Maintenance and Repairs

Pgh. Perry High School Whiteboard Installations General Primes

Project Manual and Drawings will be available for purchase on April 24, 2023, 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.

The Allegheny County Airport Authority will be receiving scanned PDF proposals through Submittable, and a submission link will be sent to each registered plan holder. Submissions are to be submitted via Submittable by 1:00 p.m. prevailing local time on May 24, 2023, and bids will be opened by the Airport Authority and results will be emailed by end of business day of bid opening for the following project:

40G1-23 (GENERAL) RESEAL TAXIWAY A PROJECT AT ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT

A pre-bid conference will be held at 1:00 p.m., on May 3, 2023 at the Allegheny County Airport, 12 Allegheny County Airport, West Mifflin, PA 15122. A site visit will follow the pre-bid conference. Attention is called to the fact that not less than the minimum salaries and wages, as determined by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, must be paid on these projects. Proposals must be made on the Authority’s form and in accordance with the Plans and Specifications and the “Instructions to Bidders”’.

The non-refundable charge of $150.00 for the Bid Documents and the Plans, and Specifications through the bidding platform Submittable at https://acaacapitalprograms. submittable.com.

Please note that Submittable does not support Internet Explorer 11. Submittable recommends the following browsers: Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari.

This project has DBE participation goals; DBE firms must be certified with the Pennsylvania Unified Certification Program) (PA UCP) Firms must be certified prior to award of contract. A searchable database of DBE firms can be found on the PA UCP web site: https://paucp.dbesystem.com/

The Airport Authority reserves the right to reject any and all bids or waive any informalities in the bidding. No bidder may withdraw his bid for a period of sixty [60] days after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids.

To view a complete advertisement, which is also included in the bidding documents visit www.flypittsburgh.com – ACAA Corporate – Business Opportunities or call 412-472-3677 or 412-4725647.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY

DOCUMENT 00030-AA ADVERTISEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT

COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA

The Allegheny County Airport Authority will be receiving scanned PDF proposals through Submittable, and a submission link will be sent to each registered plan holder. Submissions are to be submitted via Submittable by 1:00 p.m. prevailing local time on May 24, 2023, and bids will be opened by the Airport Authority and results will be emailed by end of business day of bid opening for the following project:

ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY

PROJECT NUMBER 40G3-22 (GENERAL) AIRFIELD SIGNAGE REHABILITATION PROJECT AT ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT

A pre-bid conference will be held at 10:00 a.m., on May 3, 2023 at the Allegheny County Airport, 12 Allegheny County Airport, West Mifflin, PA 15122. A site visit will follow the pre-bid conference. Attention is called to the fact that not less than the minimum salaries and wages, as determined by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, must be paid on these projects.

Proposals must be made on the Authority’s form and in accordance with the Plans and Specifications and the “Instructions to Bidders”’

The non-refundable charge of $150.00 for the Bid Documents and the Plans, and Specifications through the bidding platform Submittable at https://acaacapitalprograms. submittable.com.

Please note that Submittable does not support Internet Explorer 11.

Submittable recommends the following browsers: Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari.

This project has DBE participation goals; DBE firms must be certified with the Pennsylvania Unified Certification Program) (PA UCP) Firms must be certified prior to award of contract. A searchable database of DBE firms can be found on the PA UCP web site: https://paucp.dbesystem.com/ The Airport Authority reserves the right to reject any and all bids or waive any informalities in the bidding. No bidder may withdraw his bid for a period of sixty [60] days after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids.

To view a complete advertisement, which is also included in the bidding documents visit www.flypittsburgh.com – ACAA Corporate – Business Opportunities or call 412-472-3677 or 412-4723645.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY

CONTRACT NO. 1783

SITE DEMOLITION CONTRACT

Sealed Bids for CONTRACT NO.

1783–SITE DEMOLITION CONTRACT

shall be received at the Engineering Department office of the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority, 3300 Preble Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15233, until 11:00 A.M., Prevailing Time, Wednesday, May 24, 2023 and then shall be Publicly Opened and read via Microsoft Virtual Teams Meeting. A Pre-Bid Meeting will be held via Microsoft Virtual Teams Meeting on Tuesday, May 9, 2023 at 10:00 A.M., Prevailing Time. An Invitation will be required to access this meeting. If interested in obtaining a Invitation to the Pre-Bid Meeting, contact Kathleen P. Uniatowski via email at Kathleen.uniatowski@alcosan. org. A site meeting will be held at 10:00 A.M. on Friday May 12, 2023 beginning at the Cardello Electric site (401 North Point Drive, Pgh, PA 15233) ALCOSAN encourages businesses owned and operated by minorities and women to submit bids on Authority Contracts or to participate as subcontractors or suppliers to successful Bidders. Successful Bidders are to use minority and women’s businesses to the fullest extent possible.

Contract Documents may be examined and obtained at the Engineering office of the Authority. A non-refundable fee of One hundred dollars ($100) (no cash or credit cards will be accepted) will be charged for each set of Contract Documents received. Bid Security shall be furnished by providing with the Bid a Certified Check or Bid Bond in the amount of 10% of the Bid Price. Contract documents must be purchased directly from ALCOSAN to qualify as an eligible bidder.

Any questions regarding the Technical Specifications of the Bidding Documents should be directed to Joseph Sparbanie, P.E., Project Engineer I, ALCOSAN, via email at joseph.sparbanie@alcosan.org.

Any questions regarding the Purchase of Contract Bidding Documents should be directed to Collin Keller, ALCOSAN, via email at contract.clerks@alcosan.org.

The Authority reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to waive any informality in any bid and to accept any bid should it be deemed in the interest of the Authority to do so.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY

Michael Lichte P.E. Director of Regional Conveyance

DOCUMENT 00030-AA ADVERTISEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA

The Allegheny County Airport Authority will be receiving scanned PDF proposals through Submittable, and a submission link will be sent to each registered plan holder. Submissions are to be submitted via Submittable by 1:00 p.m. prevailing local time on May 10, 2023, and bids will be opened by the Airport Authority and results will be emailed by end of business day of bid opening for the following project:

ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY

A pre-bid conference will be held at 9:00 a.m., on May 2, 2023 in Conference Room A at Pittsburgh International Airport Landside Terminal, 4th Floor Mezz, Pittsburgh, PA 15231. A site visit will follow the pre-bid conference. Attention is called to the fact that not less than the minimum salaries and wages, as determined by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, must be paid on these projects.

Proposals must be made on the Authority’s form and in accordance with the Plans and Specifications and the “Instructions to Bidders”’. The non-refundable charge of $150.00 for the Bid Documents and the Plans, and Specifications through the bidding platform Submittable at https://acaacapitalprograms. submittable.com.

Please note that Submittable does not support Internet Explorer 11. Submittable recommends the following browsers: Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari. This project has DBE participation goals; DBE firms must be certified with the Pennsylvania Unified Certification Program) (PA UCP). Firms must be certified prior to award of contract. A searchable database of DBE firms can be found on the PA UCP web site: https://paucp.dbesystem.com/

The Airport Authority reserves the right to reject any and all bids or waive any informalities in the bidding. No bidder may withdraw his bid for a period of sixty [60] days after the scheduled closing time for receipt of bids. To view a complete advertisement, which is also included in the bidding documents visit www.flypittsburgh.com – ACAA Corporate – Business Opportunities or call 412-472-3677 or 412-472-3645.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY

CONDITIONS OF SALE

Effective with the August 3, 2020 Sheriff Sale of real estate and all such monthly public sales thereafter shall be conducted virtually through video conferencing technology or live streaming.

The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office shall provide for up to twenty-five persons to participate in person with physical distancing in the Gold Room, 4th Floor Allegheny County Courthouse. ALL PARTICIPANTS OR BIDDERS MUST BE REGISTERED AT LEAST 7 DAYS BEFORE THE DATE OF THE SALE IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE (VIRTUALLY OR IN PERSON) AT THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE SALES OF REAL ESTATE. REGISTRATION WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY SHERIFF’S WEBSITE: SHERIFFALLEGHENYCOUNTY.COM. The Successful bidder will pay full amount of bid in CASH, CERTIFIED CHECK OR CASHIERS CHECK at time of sale, otherwise the property will be resold at the next regular Sheriffs Sale; provided, that if the sale is made on MONDAY, MAY 1, 2023 the bidder may pay ten percent of purchasing price but not less than 75.00 in CASH, CERTIFIED CHECK, OR CASHIERS CHECK THE DAY IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE SALE, e.g. TUESDAY, MAY 2, 2023, BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 8:30AM AND 2:30PM IN THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE. And the balance in CASH, CERTIFIED CHECK, OR CASHIERS CHECK, on or before MONDAY, MAY 8, 2023 at 10:00 O’CLOCK A.M The property will be resold at the next regular Sheriff’s Sale if the balance is not paid, and in such case all money’s paid in at the original sale shall be applied to any deficiency in the price of which property is resold, and provided further that if the successful bidder is the plaintiff in the execution the bidder shall pay full amount of bid ON OR BEFORE THE FIRST MONDAY OF THE FOLLOWING MONTH, OTHERWISE WRIT WILL BE RETURNED AND MARKED “REAL ESTATE UNSOLD” and all monies advanced by plaintiff will be applied as required by COMMON PLEAS COURT RULE 3129.2 (1) (a)

FORFEITED SALES WILL BE POSTED IN THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE AND LISTED ON THE SHERIFF OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY WEB SITE.

AMENDMENT OF THE CODE SECOND CLASS COUNTY NEW CHAPTER 475

THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY CODE OF ORDINANCES, CHAPTER 475, ENTITLED TAXATION IS HEREBY AMENDED THROUGH THE CREATION OF A NEW ARTICLE XII, ENTITLED, “SHERIFF SALES”, AND COMPRISED AS FOLLOWS: SUBSECTION 475-60: RECORDING OF DEEDS AND NOTIFICATION OF SHERIFFS SALES TO TAXING BODIES.

A. FOR ANY REAL PROPERTY OFFERED AT SHERIFFS SALE DUE TO NONPAYMENT OF REAL ESTATE TAXES AND PURCHASED BY A THIRD PARTY THROUGH SUCH SALE, THE SHERIFF SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR FILING THE DEED AND, WITHIN SEVEN DAYS OF FILING OF THE SHERIFFS DEED, PROVIDE WRITTEN NOTICE OF THE CONVEYANCE TO THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY OFFICE OF PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS. THE WRITTEN NOTICE REQUIRED PURSUANT TO THIS SUBSECTION SHALL INCLUDE THE DATE OF THE SALE, IDENTIFICATION OF THE PROPERTY SOLD BY BOTH ADDRESS AND LOT AND BLOCK NUMBER, AND THE NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE INDIVIDUALS OR OTHER ENTITY THAT PURCHASED THE PROPERTY.

B. AT THE TIME OF THE SALE THE SHERIFF SHALL COLLECT ALL REQUISITE FILING COSTS, REALTY TRANSFER TAXES AND FEES, NECESSARY TO PROPERLY RECORD THE DEED.

C. WITHIN SEVEN DAYS OF RECEIPT OF WRITTEN NOTICE FROM THE SHERIFF, THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY OFFICE OF PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS SHALL FORWARD COPIES OF SUCH NOTICE TO ALL TAXING BODIES LEVYING REAL ESTATE TAXES ON THE PROPERTY DESCRIBED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE MUNICIPALITY AND SCHOOL DISTRICT WHERE THE PROPERTY IS LOCATED.

AS REQUIRED BY SECTION 14 OF ACT NO. 77 OF 1986, THE COST OF ALL DOCUMENTARY STAMPS FOR REAL ESTATE TRANSFER TAXES (STATE, LOCAL, AND SCHOOL) WILL BE DEDUCTED BY THE SHERIFF FROM THE PROCEEDS OF THE SALE. Purchasers must record their deeds and pay the necessary recording fees. Pursuant to Rule 3136

P.R.C.P. NOTICE is hereby given that a schedule of distribution will be filed by the Sheriff not later than 30 days from date of sale and that distribution will be made in accordance with the schedule unless exceptions are filed thereto within 10 days thereafter. No further notice of the filing of the schedule of distribution will be given.

A Land Bank formed under 68 Pa. C.S.A. 2101 et seq. may exercise its right to bid pursuant to 68 Pa. C.S.A. 2117(d) (2) through Pa. C.S.A. 2117(d) (4) on certain properties listed for sale under the municipal claims and Tax Lien Law, 53 P.S. 7101 et seq. The Sheriff of Allegheny County will honor the terms of payment which the Land Bank has entered with any municipalities having a claim against the property. If the Land Bank tenders a bid under Pa. C.S.A. 2117(d)(3) or 2117(d)(4) the property will not be offered for sale to others and the Property will be considered sold to the Land Bank for the Upset Price as defined in P.S.7279 and no other bids will be accepted.

NOTICE IS GIVEN THAT ALL SHERIFFS DEEDS TENDERED TO PURCHASERS WILL CONTAIN THE FOLLOWING:

“This document may not sell, convey, transfer, include, or insure the title to the coal and right of support underneath the surface land described or referred to herein and the owner or owners of such coal may have the complete legal right to remove all of such coal, and in that connection damage may result to the surface of the land, any house, building or other structure on or in such land.”

1 MAY, 2023

PLAINTIFF(S) EAST ALLEGHENY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND TOWNSHIP OF NORTH VERSAILLES vs. DEFENDANT(S) TRACY JACKSON AND HAROLD JACKSON, JR., AS KNOWN

HEIRS OF HAROLD JACKSON, DECEASED AND ALL UNKNOWN HEIRS OF HAROLD JACKSON, DECEASED AND VIOLET JACKSON, DECEASED ********************

CASE NO. GD-21-011614

************

DEBT$ 19,577.87

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

CHRISTOPHER E. VINCENT

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 546 WENDEL ROAD, IRWIN, PA 15642

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 724-978-0333

************************** SHORT DESCRIPTION:

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, TOWNSHIP OF NORTH VERSAILLES:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING

BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 422

E. CARTER DRIVE, NORTH VERSAILLES, PA 15137. DEED BOOK 4009, PAGE 137. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 376-R-328

2 MAY, 2023

PLAINTIFF(S) EAST ALLEGHENY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND TOWNSHIP OF NORTH VERSAILLES vs. DEFENDANT(S) ALLISON ALKER

SCHMITT ********************

CASE NO. GD-21-007250

DEBT $ 53,943.19

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

CHRISTOPHER E. VINCENT

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 546 WENDEL ROAD, IRWIN, PA 15642

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 724978-0333 ********************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION:

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny,

TOWNSHIP OF NORTH VERSAILLES:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A COMMERCIAL

STRUCTURE BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 1926 LINCOLN HIGHWAY, NORTH VERSAILLES, PA 15137. DEED BOOK 15854, PAGE 289. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 750-P-036

3 MAY, 2023

PLAINTIFF(S) DEER LAKES SCHOOL

DISTRICT vs DEFENDANT(S) AMANDA L. GLEW, ADMINISTRATRIX OF THE ESTATE OF ANTHONY EDWARD SZOSS, JR., DECEASED

CASE NO. GD-22-011452

DEBT$ 33,838.31

*********

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

CHRISTOPHER E. VINCENT

**********************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 546 WENDEL

ROAD, IRWIN, PA 15642

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 724-978-0333

SHORT DESCRIPTION:

********************

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, TOWNSHIP OF WEST DEER:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING

BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 71 SIMON ROAD, CHESWICK, PA 15024.

DEED BOOK 9835, PAGE 405. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 1360-P-369

4 MAY, 2023 PLAINTIFF(S) ALLEGHENY VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT vs DEFENDANT(S) ROBERT S. BENCO AND MARY LYNN BENCO

CASE NO. GD-20-006774

************ DEBT$ 30,253.21

********* NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

CHRISTOPHER E. VINCENT

**********************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 546 WENDEL ROAD, IRWIN, PA 15642

**************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE

NUMBER: 724-978-0333

SHORT DESCRIPTION:

******************** In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, TOWNSHIP OF HARMAR:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING

BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 37 BECKMAN STREET, CHESWICK, PA 15024. DEED BOOK 6347, PAGE 677.

BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 625-E-196

5 MAY, 2023

DEFENDANT(S) Unknown Heirs, Successors, Assigns and All Persons, Firms Or Associations

Claiming Right, Title Or Interest From

Or Under Christina D. Ellison, Deceased Unknown Heirs, Successors, Assigns and All Persons, Firms Or Associations

Claiming Right, Title Or Interest From Or Under Dannie J. Ellison, Deceased Vanessa Hill, in her capacity as heir of Christina D. Ellison, Deceased Gary Briscoe, in his capacity as heir of Christina D. Ellison, Deceased Soncerria Porter, in her capacity as heir of Christina D. Ellison, Deceased, Defendants. ******************** CASE NO. MG-20-000415

************* DEBT $ 70,395.26

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

MICHAEL BOLAND, ESQ. ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S)

8 MAY, 2023 MF / JUDGE FORM 56 DEFENDANT(S) Andrew Malone; Alisha Malone ************* CASE NO. MG-22-000947 ******** DEBT $74,479.78

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) MANLEY DEAS KOCHALSKI LLC

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS

P. 0. Box 165028 Columbus, OH 43216-5028 ************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER 614-220-5611 ******************************* SHORT DESCRIPTION *******************

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, City of McKeesport:

Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 2101 Bamsdale Avenue, McKeesport, PA 15132. Document Number 2017-24800, Deed Book

12 MAY, 2023 DEFENDANT(S) ROBERT J. GRUBER

CASE NO. MG-22-000827 ******** DEBT $89,794.00

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) KML LAW GROUP, P.C.

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS SUITE 5000, 701 MARKET STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106

************************ ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER (215) 627-1322

******************************* SHORT DESCRIPTION

******************* IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY, BOROUGH OF WHITEHALL:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING

BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 5153 FIELDCREST DRIVE, PITTSBURGH, PA 15236. DEED BOOK 15902, PAGE 75. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 249-R-26.

13 MAY, 2023

DEFENDANT(S) JOHN A. NEMETZ CASE NO. MG-17-000058

******** DEBT $79,779.95

******** NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

KML LAW GROUP, P.C.

************************ ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS SUITE 5000, 701 MARKET STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106

************************ ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER

(215) 627-1322

SHORT DESCRIPTION

******************* IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY, BOROUGH OF INGRAM:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING

BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 72

SAMPSON AVENUE, PITTSBURGH, PA 15205. DEED BOOK 9685, PAGE 519.

BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 70-R-171.

14 MAY, 2023

DEFENDANT(S)

LISA M. SCOTT AS EXECUTRIX OF THE ESTATE OF JOHN E. SCOTT, DECEASED

*************

CASE NO. MG-22-000972

********

DEBT $27,016.61

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

KML LAW GROUP, P.C.

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS SUITE 5000, 701 MARKET STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106

************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER

(215) 627-1322

SHORT DESCRIPTION

******************* IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY, TOWNSHIP OF WILKINS:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING

BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 624 MORTIMER AVENUE, TURTLE CREEK, PA 15145. DEED BOOK 8756, PAGE 559. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 454-N-254.

15 MAY, 2023 DEFENDANT(S) ALFRED CHESICK SOLELY IN HIS CAPACITY AS HEIR OF JO ANN R. CHESICK DECEASED, EUGENE CHESICK SOLELY IN HIS CAPACITY AS HEIR OF JO ANN R. CHESICK DECEASED

CASE NO. MG-19-000713 DEBT $70,569.49

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) KML LAW GROUP, P.C. ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS SUITE 5000, 701 MARKET STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER

SHORT DESCRIPTION IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY, 28TH WARD CITY OF PITTSBURGH: HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 3889 MAYFAIR STREET, PITTSBURGH, PA 15204. DEED BOOK 13202, PAGE 31.BLOCKAND LOT NUMBER 71-A-56.

17 MAY, 2023

DEFENDANT(S) THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF JUNE M. CIR.

UCCI, BRANDON CIR.UCCI, SOLELY IN HIS CAPACITY AS HEIR OF JUNE M. CIR.UCCI, DECEASED, MARK CIRUCCI, SOLELY IN HIS CAPACITY AS HEIR OF JUNE M. CIR.UCCI, DECEASED, NATHAN CIR.UCCI, SOLELY IN HIS CAPACITY AS HEIR OF JUNE M. CIRUCCI, DECEASED, AMY MCKERNAN, SOLELY IN HER CAPACITY AS HEIR OF JUNE M. CIR. UCCI, DECEASED, CINDY MUDERS, SOLELY IN HER CAPACITY AS HEIR OF JUNE M. CIRUCCI, DECEASED CASE NO. MG-21-000037

******** DEBT $144,507.20

********

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

KML LAW GROUP, P.C.

************************ ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS SUITE 5000, 701 MARKET STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER (215) 627-1322 SHORT DESCRIPTION IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY, TOWNSHIP OF ELIZABETH: HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 1481 SCENERY DRIVE, ELIZABETH, PA 15037. DEED BOOK 4469, PAGE 704. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 1269-N-200.

BOROUGH OF BELLEVUE vs DEFENDANT(S)

LINDA HOLTZAPFEL, WITH NOTICE TO HEIRS AND ASSIGNS

************* CASE NO. GD 19-013637

******** DEBT $6,376.15 NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

Jennifer L. Cerce, Esquire

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS 424 S. 27TH STREET, STE. 210 PITTSBURGH, PA 15203

************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER

(412) 242-4400

SHORT DESCRIPTION

*******************

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Borough of Bellevue:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A SINGLE

FAMILY DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 40 KENDALL AVENUE, PITTSBURGH, PA 15202. DEED BOOK

13610, PAGE 37.BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER

113-D-294.

22 MAY, 2023

PLAINTIFF(S) Penn Hills School District and Municipality of Penn Hills vs DEFENDANT(S)

Glenn C. Weathers and Stacy M. Weathers

*************

CASE NO. GD 21-012130

DEBT $42,458.68

********

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

Jennifer L. Cerce, Esquire

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS 424 S. 27TH STREET, STE. 210

PITTSBURGH, PA 15203

************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER

(412) 242-4400

*******************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Municipality of Penn Hills:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 249 LANSDOWNE DRIVE, VERONA, PA 15147. DEED BOOK 16389, PAGE 168. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 447-E-387.

23 MAY, 2023

PLAINTIFF(S) Penn Hills School District and Municipality of Penn Hills vs DEFENDANT(S) VICTOR R. MASLAR

************* CASE NO. GD 21-013031

DEBT $10,122.91

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

Jennifer L. Cerce, Esquire

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS 424 S. 27TH STREET, STE. 210 PITTSBURGH, PA 15203

************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER

(412) 242-4400

*******************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Municipality of Penn Hills:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A SINGLE

FAMILY DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 128 ANGE DR, PITTSBURGH, PA 15235. DEED BOOK 11262, PAGE 83. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 538-S-205.

24 MAY, 2023

PLAINTIFF(S) Wilkinsburg School District and Wilkinsburg Borough vs DEFENDANT(S) Deliverance Baptist Church

CASE NO. GD 16-020286

******** DEBT $49,596.31

******** NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Jennifer L. Cerce, Esquire

************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS 424 S. 27TH STREET, STE. 210

PITTSBURGH, PA 15203

************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER

(412) 242-4400

SHORT DESCRIPTION

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Borough of Wilkinsburg:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A TWO

FAMILY DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 1107 SOUTH AVENUE, PITTSBURGH, PA 15221. DEED BOOK 10275, PAGE 279. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 233-F-170.

25 MAY, 2023

PLAINTIFF(S) Elizabeth Forward School District vs DEFENDANT(S) The Unknown Heirs of Betty

Zaken, a/k/a Betty J. Zaken, Deceased CASE NO. GD 22-004627

OF CLIFFORD

GANDY, SR., DECEASED

************* CASE NO. GD 22-004443

DEBT $9,430.10

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

Jennifer L. Cerce, Esquire

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS 424 S. 27TH STREET, STE. 210 PITTSBURGH, PA 15203

************************ ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER

(412) 242-4400

*******************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION

*******************

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Borough of Wilkinsburg:

BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 19E-201. PARCEL 2: BEING VACANT LAND BEING KNOWN AS MAGNUS STREET, PITTSBURGH, PA 15205 A/KIA 1576 NOBLESTOWN ROAD, PITTSBURGH, PA 15205. DEED BOOK VOLUME 12551, PAGE 83. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 19E-204.

36 MAY, 2023 DEFENDANT(S) William John Winge CASE NO. MG-22-000434 DEBT $133,972.31 NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

41 MAY, 2023

DEFENDANT(S) JULIE KUROS, IN HER CAPACITY AS HEIR OF HAZEL B. PHILLIPS A/KIA

HAZEL PHILLIPS; UNKNOWN HEIRS, SUCCESSORS, ASSIGNS AND ALL

PERSONS, FIRMS OR ASSOCIATIONS

CLAIMING RIGHT, TITLE OR INTEREST

FROM OR UNDER HAZEL

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Stem & Eisenberg, PC

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS THE SHOPS AT VALLEY SQUARE, 1581 MAIN STREET, SUITE 200, WARRINGTON, PA 18976

************************ ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER (215) 572-8111

SHORT DESCRIPTION

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny and 20th Ward of the City of Pittsburgh:

Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 2441 Glen Mawr Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15204 a/k/a 2441

Block and Lot Number 562-E-181.

37 MAY, 2023

DEFENDANT(S) Bernadette Spinella as heir to the Estate of David C Beitle, deceased, Robert R. Beitle as heir to the Estate of David C. Beitle,deceased, and The Unknown Heirs of David C. Beitle, deceased CASE NO. GD-22-008576 ******** DEBT $20,236.92 ******** NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Stem & Eisenberg, PC ************************ ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS THE SHOPS AT

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, 18th Ward, City of Pittsburgh:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING

BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 304

ASTEROID WAY, PITTSBURGH, PA 15210.

DEED BOOK VOLUME 8715, PAGE 577. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER. 14-F-287.

43 MAY, 2023

DEFENDANT(S) Timothy J. Rogers, Personal Representative of the Estate of Robert L. Snodgrass, Deceased

CASE NO. GD-22-013872

DEBT $173,381.75

********

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

The Law Office of Gregory Javardian, LLC

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS

1310 INDUSTRIAL BOULEVARD, PT FLOOR, SUITE 101, SOUTHAMPTON, PA

18966

************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER

215-942-9690

SHORT DESCRIPTION

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, 20th Ward, City of Pittsburgh:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING

BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 2201 OLD OAK DRIVE, PITTSBURGH, PA 15220. DEED BOOK VOLUME 17680, PAGE 228. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER. 63-F-26.

44 MAY, 2023

DEFENDANT(S) FREDDA THOMAS PENNYBAKER

CASE NO. GD-22-011071

********

DEBT $85,426.90

********

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) KML LAW GROUP, P.C.

************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS SUITE 5000, 701 MARKET STREET, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106

************************ ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER

Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 6312 Waldron Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Deed Book Volume 13280, Page 250. Block and Lot Number 87-D-187.

39 MAY, 2023

DEFENDANT(S) JEFFREY A. ROGOSZ AKA JEFFREY ROGOSZ CASE NO. GD-19-017663 ******** DEBT $89,974.56 ******** NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) KML LAW GROUP, P.C. ************************ ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS SUITE 5000, 701 MARKET STREET PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106 ************************ ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER (215) 627-1322 SHORT DESCRIPTION ******************* IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY, TOWNSHIP OF WEST DEER: HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 626 STATE ROUTE 908 EXT, TARENTUM, PA 15084. DEED BOOK 13999,

(215) 627-1322

SHORT DESCRIPTION

IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY, BOROUGH OF SWISSVALE:

HAYING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 2549 S BRADDOCK AVENUE, PITTSBURGH, PA 15218. DEED BOOK 12857, PAGE 113. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 235-P-65.

45 MAY, 2023 DEFENDANT(S) Richard D. Gensler and Sherry R. Gensler, Administrators of the Estate of Marjorie F. Gensler CASE NO. GD-22-007451 ******** DEBT $44,373.75

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Kristine M. Anthou, Esquire,

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS GRENEN & BIRSIC, P.C. ONE GATEWAY CENTER, 9TH FLOOR, PITTSBURGH, PA 15222

J. Michael Mccague, Esquire ************************ ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS 408 CEDAR AVENUE, PITTSBURGH, PA 15212

************************ ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER

412-803-3690

SHORT DESCRIPTION

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Borough of Wilkinsburg:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A TWO FAMILY RESIDENTIAL DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 1529 SWISSVALE AVENUE, PITTSBURGH, PA 15221 A/KIA 1529-1531 SWISSVALE AVENUE, PITTSBURGH, PA 15221. DEED BOOK VOLUME 16216, PAGE 133, BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 232-K-332.

48 MAY, 2023

DEFENDANT(S) JAMES F. KERIOTIS

************* CASE NO. AR-19-002124

******** DEBT $20,000.00

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

Fred C. Jug, Jr.

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS 310 GRANT STREET, SUITE 1109, PITTSBURGH, PA 15219

************************ ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER

412-255-6500

*******************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION

******************* In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, City of Pittsburgh, 7th Ward:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A HOWE COURT CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION

DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 5931 HOWE STREET, PITTSBURGH, PA 15232. DEED BOOK 7312, PAGE 307. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 0084-P-00115-C008-00.

49 MAY, 2023

PLAINTIFF(S): County of Allegheny vs.

DEFENDANT(S): B R Holdings LLC ************* CASE NO. GD 21-005617 ******** DEBT $8,756.46 NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Joseph W. Gramc, Esquire

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS 525 WILLIAM PENN PLACE, SUITE 3110 PITTSBURGH, PA 15219

************************ ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER (412) 281-0587

SHORT DESCRIPTION ******************* In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Borough of West Mifflin Parcel #1 Being thereon vacant commercial land known as Pittsburgh McKeesport Boulevard, West Mifflin, PA 15122. Deed Book Volume 17047, Page 300, Block & Lot 243-M-70. Parcel #2 Being thereon vacant commercial land known as Pittsburgh McKeesport Boulevard, West Mifflin, PA 15122. Deed Book Volume 17047, Page 300, Block & Lot 243-M-73.

51 MAY, 2023

PLAINTIFF(S):

65 MAY, 2023 DEFENDANT(S): Gabriel Rocco, as believed Heir to the Estate of Doris Jean Rocco, AKA Doris J. Rocco; August Rocco, Jr., as believed Heir to the Estate of Doris Jean Rocco, AKA Doris J. Rocco; Roberta Simak, as believed Heir to the Estate of Doris Jean Rocco, AKA Doris J. Rocco; Rosanne Regis, as believed Heir to the Estate of Doris Jean Rocco, AKA Doris J. Rocco; Paul Rocco, as believed Heir to the Estate of Doris Jean Rocco, AKA Doris J. Rocco; Michael Rocco, as believed Heir to the Estate of Doris Jean Rocco, AKA Doris J. Rocco; Unknown Heirs, to the Estate of Doris Jean Rocco, AKA Doris J. Rocco; Unknown Administrators, to the Estate of Doris Jean Rocco, AKA Doris

00097-0000-00.

67 MAY, 2023

DEFENDANT(S): Dawn W. Tamuschy, AKA Dawn Tamuschy; William A. Tamuschy, AKA William Tamuschy ************* CASE NO.: MG-20-000347 ******** DEBT $47,271.67

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Manley Deas Kochalski LLC

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS P. 0. BOX 165028 COLUMBUS, OH 43216-5028 ************************ ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER 614-220-5611

SHORT DESCRIPTION ******************* In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, East Deer Township: Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 965 Freeport Road, Creighton, PA 15030 AKA 965 Freeport Road, East Deer, PA 15030. Document Number 2019-20700, Deed Book Volume 17688, Page 451. Block and Lot Number 0960-F-00190-0000-00.

68 MAY, 2023 DEFENDANT(S): Symmetry Estates, LLC ************* CASE NO.: GD-19-014872

73 MAY, 2023 DEFENDANT(S): THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF GILBERT WILLIAMS, DECEASED

CASE NO.: MG-22-000110

******** DEBT $6,737.44

******** NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

KML LAW GROUP, P.C.

************************ ADDRESS OF ATTORNEYS SUITE 5000, 701 MARKET STREET PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106

************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER (215) 627-1322

SHORT DESCRIPTION

******************* IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY, 26TH WARD CITY OF PITTSBURGH:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING

BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 65 SEMICIR STREET, PITTSBURGH, PA 15214. DEED BOOK

COURIER CLASSIFIEDS

STORY DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 351 WEBER ROAD, SEWICKLEY, PA 15143. DEED BOOK 13674, PAGE 640. BLOCKANDLOTNUMBER42 L 89