6.12.24 NPC

by Rob Taylor Jr.

Courier Staff Writer

Before Highmark Stadium and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds...

Before the “T” went un-

derwater and over to the North Side... Before they renamed the stadium “Cupples” Stadium... There was something that thousands of African

Americans attended each June, but the vast majority of the young people who attended never understood the significance of; WAMO’s “Juneteenth” celebration. THE FIRST JUNETEENTH CELEBRATION IN PITTSBURGH

The date was Saturday, June 19, 1993. A nice day outside. If you were WAMO general manager Alan Lincoln, it was the perfect day to make history, as WAMO set up a stage in a parking lot used for a Farmers Market on

and

Valerie Dixon, community activist who lost son to gun violence, dies at 63

by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer

Tim Stevens, Chairman and CEO of the Black Political Empowerment Project, recalled the day that he met Valerie Dixon. It was at an anti-violence event in the Hill District in July 2001, two weeks after Dixon's son, Robby, was shot and killed. Dixon's pain, her hurt, her sadness was "converted into a mission," Stevens told the New Pittsburgh Courier.

The next 23 years, Dixon was front and center in the fight against violence in Pittsburgh. Sometimes, the fight against violence in Pittsburgh seems like a never-ending fight. But Dixon didn't care. It was her mission to be there for other mothers who may have lost their son to gun violence. It was her mission to make this city,

this region, a better, safer place for all. Valerie Dixon, surrounded by family, died at UPMC Presbyterian Hospital on Monday, June 3, from kidney disease. She was 63. "We hit it off right away," Stevens recalled about meeting Dixon two weeks after the death of her son on June 25, 2001. "She became one of my very closest friends on the planet. I got to visit her frequently in the different hospitals and rehab centers that she was in. She always kept her sense of humor even in the midst of all the ongoing physical challenges to her body." Dixon could always be seen in the community, whether it was with B-PEP, the Greater Pittsburgh Coalition Against

SEE DIXON A7

“Pittsburgh has lost another community advocate with the passing of Valerie Dixon. She worked tirelessly to combat violence in our neighborhoods, especially after losing her beloved son, Robert. Let’s offer our support and extend kindness to her family and friends as they grieve their loss. May her legacy of peace and understanding be a roadmap for how we all should continue to live.”

- MAYOR ED GAINEY

FBI: Hate crimes down in Pa.

by Sherry Stone

Philadelphia Tribune Staff Writer

Pennsylvania was listed among the nation’s top 10 states with the biggest decrease in hate crimes between 2021 and 2022, according to a recent report from Gruber Law Offices based on Federal Bureau of Investigation data.

Hate crimes in Pennsylvania were down 20 percent between 2021 and 2022, according to the report, which cited reports from law enforcement agencies reporting the crime data to the FBI.

A total of 347 hate crimes, defined by the FBI as “criminal offenses motivated in part or in whole by the offender’s biases against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity,” were reported in Pennsylvania in 2021, and 278 hate crimes were reported in our state in 2022.

Over the bridge, however, nearby New Jersey reported a 41 percent increase in hate crimes for this time frame, with a reported 780 cases in 2021 and 1,101 reported in 2022.

Neighboring states Delaware and Maryland also reported an increase in hate crimes for 2021-2022 with Delaware reporting a 78 percent increase, from 9 instances to 16. In Maryland instances of hate crimes were up 44 percent from 139 cases in 2021 to 200 in 2022, according to the report.

“The significant decrease in hate crime in certain states,” like Pennsylvania, “suggests a positive development for their residents,” said Attorney David Gruber, founder of Gruber Law Offices, “as it reflects progress in societal attitudes as well as the possible effectiveness of policies targeted toward combating hate crime. However, these statistics are also a reminder for communities to remain vigilant, as many states unfortunately saw an increase in hate crime —and the figures across the nation remained unchanged from 2021-2022.”

According to the FBI, in 2022 most of the instances of hate crimes in Pennsylvania were based upon race, ethnicity and ancestry in the area (67 percent), followed, by differences in sexual orientation (15.5 percent) and religion (13.8 percent), and less commonly based upon disability, gender and gender identity. FBI records also showed that in Pennsylvania, 74.4 percent of hate crimes were against people whereas crimes against property were in-

volved in 24.9 percent of hate crimes. Pennsylvania had a few instances of hate related attacks on residents in recent years. Last year, a federal jury in Pittsburgh unanimously recommended that a Pennsylvania man be sentenced to death for killing 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2018. The assailant entered the house of worship and shot and killed 11 congregants and five law enforcement officers. Evidence showed that the defendant planned his attack based on violently antisemitic beliefs reflected in dozens of online posts. In one instance of racially motivated harassment, a car full of four White Pennsylvania men were charged with simple assault and harassment for calling an African American student from Lehigh University a racial slur, while he was walking off campus with two White student friends. The African American student ran after the car and hit the trunk in anger. The men in the car responded by parking the car, surrounding him while one of the men hit him, and then chased him onto the Lehigh Valley campus. Once on campus, one of the men pulled out a firearm and waited for the student outside of the locked dorm room, according to the North Hampton

This Week In Black History A Courier Staple

• JUNE

12

1840—The world’s first anti-slavery convention took place in London, England. The aim of the gathering was to unite abolitionists worldwide. However, the effectiveness of the convention was harmed by a decision to exclude female delegates.

1886—The Georgia Supreme Court upholds the will of former slave owner David Dickson who had left more than $300,000 to a child he fathered by raping a 12-year-old Black girl. The ruling made Amanda America Eubanks the wealthiest Black person in America. She would later marry one of her White first cousins.

1963—Medgar Evers, Mississippi field secretary for the NAACP, was assassinated in front of his home by White supremacist Byron de la Beckwith. All-White juries twice refused to find De la Beckwith guilty although the evidence was overwhelming. Finally, in 1995, Beckwith was convicted of killing the civil rights activist. Beckwith died in prison in 2001.

• JUNE 13

County District Attorney’s Office in April 2023.

Amanda Brothman, director of Communications for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission in Harrisburg, says the commission has warred primarily with racist propaganda since 2021.

“In 2021, Pennsylvania had the highest incidents of White supremacist propaganda distribution of any state in the country —473 instances of hateful propaganda—signs, stickers, graffiti—nearly 100 more than the next closest state, Virginia. About 90 percent of the instances were attributed to one group, The Patriot Front, according to the Anti-Defamation League.”

Nationally, there were a total of 10,530 single-bias hate crimes in 2021, according to the FBI. And in 2022, there were a total of 11,288 single-bias hate crimes in the United States. In 346 incidents, hate crime victims were targeted because of more than one bias like race and religion.

Of the known offenders, nationally, 51 percent were White, 21 perecent were Black or African American, and 17.4 percent were of unknown race.

FBI statistics show the vast majority of the offenders, 80.6 percent, were 18 years of age or older. Roughly 10 percent of incidents occurred at schools and colleges, nearly 6 percent of hate crimes occurred in parking garages, about 3.6 percent occurred at churches, synagogues and mosques, and about 3% occurred on playgrounds.

1967—President Lyndon B. Johnson nominates former NAACP Chief Counsel Thurgood Marshall to be the first Black justice on the United States Supreme Court. He said of his decision, it “was the right thing to do, the right time to do it.” Marshall had been a towering figure in the legal battles against segregation including lead counsel in the historic Brown v. Board of Education case. The Senate would confirm the nomination Aug. 30. An aside: Marshall’s original name was Thoroughgood but he shortened it to Thurgood.

• JUNE 14

1811—White anti-slavery activist Harriet Beecher Stowe is born. Stowe was the author of one of the best-selling books of 1852—“Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” The book addressed the brutality of slavery and featured the character of “Uncle Tom”—a slave who, perhaps unfairly, came to symbolize the accommodating Black person who showed complete deference to Whites. The book was such an indictment of slavery that when President Abraham Lincoln met Stowe he remarked, “You’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great [civil] war.” 1970—Cheryl Adrienne Brown wins the Miss Iowa pageant and becomes the first African American to compete in the Miss America beauty pageant.

• JUNE 15

1864—Gen. Ulysses S. Grant outfoxed Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee by switching an attack strategy from Cold Harbor to Petersburg, Va. The assault, spearheaded by Gen. Charles Paine, knocked a mile-wide hole in Lee’s defenses and resulted in the capture of hundreds of rebel soldiers and helped speed up the end of the Civil War. Several Black regiments were involved in the assault and siege. Grant would later become the 18th president of the United States and use his office to deal a series of crushing blows to the rapidly growing forces of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1870s. 1877—Henry O. Flippea becomes the first Black graduate of the U.S. military academy at West Point.

1921—Bessie Coleman becomes the first woman of any race to obtain an international pilot’s license. But she had to leave the United States and study in France in order to accomplish her goal. She was barred from U.S. flight schools because of her race and her sex. Born in a small town called Atlanta, Texas, Coleman would move to Chicago where she was influenced by several prominent Blacks including Robert S. Abbott, publisher of the Chicago Defender. When she returned to the U.S. from France, Hollywood wanted to do a movie about her amazing feat. She walked off the set because she felt the film actually degraded Blacks. Coleman died in a plane accident April 30, 1926.

• JUNE 16

1822—This was the rumored start date of the Denmark Vesey-led slave revolt in the Charleston, S.C., area. Vesey, a former slave who had bought his freedom, had organized what is still believed to be the largest and most comprehensive slave revolt in American history. Aware of how “house slaves” tended to be loyal to their slave masters, Vesey had given strict orders that none were to be included in the plot. But so many Blacks (both slave and free) were involved

that word eventually leaked out and just as Vesey feared, a house slave told the authorities. Military forces were moved into the city and scores were arrested. Thirty-five Blacks, including Vesey, were hanged. [There is some historical debate as to whether June 16 was the actual start date for the rebellion. There is some authority that July 14 was to be the start date. But what is clear is that military forces moved into the city on June 16 to put down the planned revolt.]

1969—The United States Supreme Court rules that the suspension of Harlem Congressman Adam Clayton Powell Jr. from the U.S. House of Representatives on alleged corruption charges was unconstitutional. Powell, who had first won election to Congress in 1945, was returned to the House but without his seniority. Powell had been one of the most powerful men in Congress. He had fought civil rights battles in New York and had followed his father as pastor of the city’s influential Abyssinian Baptist Church. He often told Blacks “Mass action is the most powerful force on earth.” He also frequently reminded his supporters to “Keep the faith, baby.”

• JUNE 17

1775—Blacks fight in two of the major battles of America’s war of independence from England—the battles of Bunker Hill and Breeds Hill. Two of the most outstanding soldiers were Peter Salem and Salem Poor.

1871—James Weldon Johnson is born in Jacksonville, Fla. Johnson is clearly one of the most multi-talented men in Black American history. He was a poet, writer, lawyer, diplomat and civil rights activist. Johnson was one of the leading figures in the Black cultural revolution of the 1920s known as the Harlem Renaissance. He was the first African-American admitted to the Florida bar to practice law. He was the first Black executive of the NAACP. He served as one of the first Black diplomats to Latin America and he is co-author of the “Black” National Anthem—“Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.” He died in an automobile accident in 1938.

1928—The “Godfather of Soul” James Brown was born on this day in Pulaski, Tenn. He was also referred to as “Soul Brother Number One” and “Mr. Dynamic” for his sensational dancing. Brown died in December of 2006.

1948—Actress Phylicia Rashad is born on this day in Houston, Texas. Rashad is best known for her role as Bill Cosby’s wife in the once highly popular NBC television series, “The Cosby Show.”

1980—Tennis great Venus Williams is born in Lynwood, Calif. Venus is the older sister of fellow tennis great Serena Williams.

•

JUNE 18

1941—Labor and civil rights leader A. Phillip Randolph initially rejects a plea by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to call off the first-ever Black-organized March on Washington designed to protest unfair employment practices by the military and the defense industry. The march was planned by Randolph, Bayard Rustin and A.J. Muste—all relatively unsung heroes of the early civil rights movement. The march was not cancelled until Roosevelt signed the Fair Employment Act. Ironically, more than 20 years later, Randolph would be one of the principal figures helping Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. organize his historic 1963 March on Washington. 1968—The United States Supreme Court bans racial discrimination in the sale and rental of housing. The decision came in a case known as Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. The court used as its precedent the Civil Rights Act of 1866 to state that housing discrimination by either the government or private industry was unconstitutional. 2010—A study gains widespread publicity indicating that a growing number of Black males are abandoning Black females when it comes to marriage. The report, analyzing data from 2008, found that 22 percent of Black male newlyweds married a woman who was not Black. Meanwhile, 9 percent of Black female newlyweds married a man who was not Black. The study was compiled the Pew research Center and based on data from the Census Bureau’s “American Community Survey.” The actual report had been released in early June.

SPREAD LOVE, NOT HATE—AMENAH TUCKER HOLDS UP THE SIGN THAT SAYS IT ALL. (PHOTO BY EMMAI ALAQUIVA/FILE)

Some 30 years ago, WAMO began

‘Juneteenth’

JUNETEENTH FROM A1

MO’s “Juneteenth” celebration, and in addition to local talent, the main attractions on that day were Super Cat and female R&B group Sudden Change.

“We knew ‘Juneteenth’ was celebrated more in the South and we brought it to Pittsburgh, we wanted to see how it would go,” voiced Jay Jay Stone, the former WAMO night and afternoon personality who was at that very first Juneteenth celebration in 1993. “It actually blew our minds that folks really came out to support it.”

There are some people that remember Pittsburgh’s very first Juneteenth celebration, thanks to WAMO.

However, the second one, in 1994, is when it really caught on, when WAMO decided to hold its Juneteenth celebration at what was known as South Stadium on the South Side. It was an event that ran all day, where people were able to interact with different vendors, have fun activities for the kids, and witness live music performances. In that year, June 19, the actual date of Juneteenth, was a Sunday. Those who spoke with the New Pittsburgh Courier for this story recalled the WAMO event at South Stadium occurred the day prior, on Saturday, June 18. By the end of the night, Pittsburgh could say that “Juneteenth” was officially “a thing” in the city. But it also received bad press, as there were reports of fights among some of the young people in and around the stadium that night. It even had some public officials on local television calling for a WAMO event of that magnitude not to be permitted on the South Side again.

Undeterred, WAMO management and ownership, which was entirely local, continued with its Juneteenth celebrations, eventually moving it to the old I.C. Light Amphitheatre, a block or so away from Station Square on the South Side. Highmark Stadium currently sits where the I.C. Light Amphitheatre stood. By then, from 1995-99, WAMO would feature more of the Hip-Hop artists during the day, while the night would be reserved for older audiences. This had Black youth from all sides of town converging on Downtown early in the afternoon to jump on the “T,” Pittsburgh’s subway, to go across the Monongahela River to the South Side’s Station Square “T” stop. Back in those days, the “T” only went to the mostly-White South Hills and not the North Side, like it does today, which meant not too many Blacks would ride the “T.” But for WAMO’s Juneteenth, those

subways were packed with young African Americans who couldn’t wait to get to the amphitheater.

Marlon Martin was at WAMO’s Juneteenth in 1994. Martin, the current WAMO 107.3 Sunday Gospel host, had just started working with WAMO (then at 105.9 FM) in 1994 and eventually worked his way to morning show co-host on WAMO with The Breakfast Jam under the name, Sean Richards. He told the Courier he remembered the big stage that was in the middle of the stadium, and what a large stadium it was to him. Things were very scattered due to the large space.

As for the word “Juneteenth,” Martin had never heard of the word until WAMO’s event. And he never knew the meaning of “Juneteenth,” even when he was on the stage with his morning show mates, Sly Jock and Taylor Diaz, at the I.C. Light Amphitheatre in the mid-’90s. He wasn’t alone. A number of people the Courier spoke with said even though they attended those WAMO events, the actual “significance” of “Juneteenth” didn’t cross their minds.

“I actually thought it

was a play on ‘June’ and ‘teenth,’” Martin told the Courier. “I didn’t even know the significance of the 19th.”

WAMO management obviously did, which is why WAMO’s Juneteenth events were always held right around the 19th of June each year. And over that time period, Pittsburgh fans were treated to artists like Destiny’s Child, Common, LL Cool J, Yolanda Adams, Monifah, Total, Patra, Donell Jones, Chante Moore and 112.

As a teen, Emmai Alaquiva was one of the thousands who attended WAMO’s Juneteenth on the South Side. “It gave me a sense of community that I didn’t necessarily get from all the other festivals in the region,” the Emmy Award-winning filmmaker told the Courier.

“Now that I know I was part of (WAMO’s Juneteenth), I feel a sense of agency in my spirit to continue that legacy,” Alaquiva added.

“We had so many fans, so many people tuned in every morning to listen to The Breakfast Jam because we did a lot of funny

YES, THE ORIGINAL DESTINY’S CHILD MEMBERS TOOK TO THE WAMO JUNETEENTH STAGE AT THE OLD I.C. LIGHT AMPHITHEATRE IN THE LATE ‘90S. (PHOTO COURTESY KIKI BROWN/WAMO)

THE BREAKFAST JAM AT JUNETEENTH—TAYLOR DIAZ, SEAN RICHARDS, SLY JOCK

The Men of Excellence Award celebrates local African American men who motivate and inspire others through their vision and leadership, exceptional achievements and participation in community service. The selected honorees will join an exclusive society of professional men who have previously received this distinction.

CRITERIA:

1. The nominee must a be a man 40 years of age or older, who resides in the Greater Pittsburgh area.

2. The nominee must be active in his career or profession. Career or profession is defined as paid employment in his field. Nominees must agree to have their photograph and biographical information published in the New Pittsburgh Courier.

All nominees selected as a Men of Excellence will be featured in a 2024 edition of the New Pittsburgh Courier

3. Evaluations will be based on the quality of a nominee’s achievements rather than the quantity of information submitted.

4. Selections will be made by the New Pittsburgh Courier Men of Excellence Selection Committee based on the following criteria:

• Local African American executive or business owner

• Proven success in career/profession

• Positive role model

• Demonstrative community service

Nomination deadline is Monday, June 24, 2024 at 4 p.m.

To submit nominations, visit : www.newpittsburghcourier.com/moenominations2024

SHENA NELSON WITH HER CHILDREN, ALANA (FRONT), AMARIA (BACK RIGHT), AND ZYION, AT THE PITTSBURGH PRIDE PARADE, JUNE 1, DOWNTOWN. (PHOTOS BY ROB TAYLOR JR.)

KENYA MATTHEWS AND HER DOG TAKING IN THE FUN...

the 2024 Pittsburgh Pride Parade

Community LIFE is here to help keep seniors independent and in their homes with an all-inclusive program and insurance plan.

We offer a wide range of comprehensive services through our Health and Wellness Centers, including medical care, in-home care, meals, recreation, transportation, and more.

It’s time for you to focus on LIFE. We’ll take care of the rest. Learn more at commlife.org.

DENA STANLEY

STATE REP. LA’TASHA D. MAYES

PITTSBURGH MAYOR ED GAINEY

LAKITA FORD WITH HER DAUGHTER, KNYA FORD

HAVIN’ FUN!

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

Environmental Justice

This month, the Community Health Series Partnership (CHSP) is focusing on environmental justice, including commentary from Carlos T. Carter, President and CEO of the Urban League of Pittsburgh.

Q: Carlos, the term ‘environmental justice neighborhoods’ is intended to denote the structural inequities and systemic racism that have contributed to more of our region’s Black residents being exposed to environmental hazards like air and water pollution, toxic waste, and climate change. What are ways in which environmental hazards contribute to

poor health outcomes that you’ve seen among individuals and families served by the Urban League?

Carlos Carter: According to research from PennEnvironment, Allegheny County is  ranked in the top 2 percent of counties nationwide for cancer risk from air pollution. The city of Clairton is home to the top polluter of Allegheny County, Clairton Coke Works. Clairton is nearly 40 percent Black—and these individuals often live near this coal-based, steel-making fuel plant. Health risks outside of cancer exist as well. In a 2020 edition of the academic journal Environmental

Health, it was estimated that about 40 percent of air pollution-related coronary heart disease deaths in Allegheny County occur in  environmental justice communities—even though such communities represent just 27 percent of the county’s total population. One of the Urban League’s key goals is Health and Quality of Life Empowerment. Through our work, we are advocating toward improving the quality of life for the Black community. We will continue to raise awareness of issues, including climate change, that impact the lives of our people. Just as we approach other issues, we are open to collabora-

tion and partnership with other organizations who specifically tackle environmental justice issues daily. Q: There are many ways in which community members can reduce risk from harms of environmental hazards.  What are ways we can educate ourselves about our role in creat-

ing healthier environments?

Carlos Carter: It’s important that community members not only understand the environmental risks that exist around them, but also know both the individual and collective actions that can mitigate environmental hazards. There are ongoing community workshops and seminars, advocacy campaigns, and organizations people can join to actively support measures for a healthier environment.

As a collective region, we must acknowledge the impact health issues caused by environmental degradation has had on our people. Specifically, we must acknowledge the disparate impact it is having on children and marginalized communities.

We must leverage our

power to vote for candidates who acknowledge the need to invest in environmental justice communities. And we can’t just stop with voting! We must continue to hold all entities responsible for negatively impacting the health and wellbeing of Black people. We must be vigilant and ensure that public officials —and our local, state, and federal government—are accountable. They must be proponents of people-centered, environmentally responsible policy. We must also support organizations that are doing the work to protect our planet and committed to sustainable practices that keep safe our most vulnerable communities.   Ultimately, the responsibility lies with us to look out for ourselves and our communities of color.

Advocates listen and learn, celebrate and plan at first Environmental Justice Summit

May 9-11 was Pittsburgh’s first Environmental Justice Summit with the theme Reflections, Connections, and Collaborative Action. Attendees included community partners on the forefront of environmental initiatives, as well as practitioners, academics, researchers, and other advocates.

The event celebrated the good work that’s being done to promote environmental justice in our region. It also brought together different groups to meet, network, listen, and brainstorm a collaborative way forward.

The summit’s goal was to kick off a collective force of people who will work together to eliminate environmental health disparities caused by air and water pollution, chemical waste, climate change, and lead exposure.

The summit was created, planned, and co-chaired by Dr. Tina Ndoh, Pitt Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health in the School of Public Health and Dani Wilson, Executive Director of the Cancer & Environ-

mental Network of SWPA. What is environmental justice?

Environmental justice is the fair treatment and involvement of all people in making and enforcing environmental laws, regulations, and policies in the natural and built environment. The movement promotes a healthier society regardless of color, race, income, or national origin.

In Pittsburgh, like many other parts of the country, Black and Brown communities are exposed to more pollution than White communities. This inequity impacts physical and mental health and lowers life expectancy due to higher levels of cancer, heart disease, asthma, depression, anxiety, and more. Not your typical summit: 3 days of healing and joy

The summit was anything but ordinary. During the three-day event, participants collectively reignited the region’s environmental justice movement. The sobering task was interspersed with celebration, joy, and healing ac-

tivities on Thursday night in Homewood, with yoga, crafting, cooking, storytelling, and more.

On Friday in the Hill District, summit keynote speaker Dr. Sacoby Wilson from the University of Maryland’s College Park School of Public Health, led a lively discussion about connecting and addressing injustices in housing, education, employment, and healthcare. Breakout panels during the day helped participants dive deeper.

In one panel for example, participants learned how the Black Environmental Collective, the Black Equity Coalition, and the University of Pittsburgh teamed up to fight COVID-19 health inequities. The group collected and distributed timely health data and research to county and state health departments and politicians. The model they created is now being used to fight other health inequities in the region.

In another panel, participants discovered how Oasis Farm and Fishery uses vacant land to grow food for communities that don’t

have easy, affordable access to fresh fruits and vegetables. Community members help to decide what should be planted and can take free cooking and urban farming classes. Friday also featured a tour of vacant lots in the Hill District led by Pitt School of Law faculty members Stephanie Dangel and Jacquelin Walker. The discussion centered on the past, present, and potential futures of historic Wylie Avenue.

On Saturday, an event in Hazelwood included envi-

Stay black, stay green!

Pittsburgh’s Black Environmental Collective is a cross-sectoral network of Black leaders, rooted in a commitment to environmental equity and social justice.

The organization bridges the gap between community experiences, resource and information sharing, regional policy advocacy, and mutual learning. It brings together people and their ideas who would not otherwise meet.

The collective believes: Cities should be built for people with people. Cities will prosper when lived experiences

of urban life are central to urban planning, design, and decision-making processes.

The voices and experiences of long-term and low-wealth residents should be a significant part—from the beginning and throughout—of any urban or community development project.

Everyone should live in a healthy home and neighborhood.

Residents who have stuck it out through tough times should be able to stay when their neighborhood changes for the better.   Lived experience and book

smarts are both forms of knowledge. Each is an important part of understanding.

Young people matter. They should be respected—not feared or dismissed. Their voices should be heard, supported, and empowered to make the changes they seek.

Publicly-held land should benefit the public first.

Informed by a diverse set of experiences and a critical interdisciplinary lens, the collective focuses on community engagement and education, collaboration and partnership, movement and coalition building,

Feed the Hood expands culinary workforce and creates a healthy food environment and community

In 2016, Feed the Hood started as “Hotdogs for the Hood.” However, when a Westinghouse teacher stated that, for some of the students, this would be their last meal of the day, “Hotdogs for the Hood” became “Feed The Hood.” At that moment, Chef Carlos Thomas of Confluence Catering made it his mission to “feed the entire city for free or for profit.”

Feed The Hood’s mis-

sion is to expand the culinary workforce by providing students with peer-to-peer mentorship, culinary training, and real-world experience that prepares them for employment in the restaurant and hospitality industry.

Feed The Hood’s vision is to create a community of innovative, engaged food service professionals within this industry who focus on sustaining

a healthy food environment and community.

In addition, the organization continues to transform into a multi-dimensional powerhouse that improves relationships between people and food and develops new approaches toward food and policy via a three-step, “theory of change” approach: Build healthy relationships to construct a sustainable and equitable

ronmental storytelling as well as instruction on how to make healthy cleaning products. Some participants even made their own healthy beauty products. The summit’s conclusion was especially moving. Participants met in Clairton, a town fighting some of the country’s worst pollution. There, they joined Melanie Meade, lifelong Clairton resident and member of the Black Appalachian Coalition, and Adam Lobel, Guiding Teacher, One Earth Sangha, for a “bearing witness” ceremony that

acknowledged the slow violence of environmental injustice on the land and its people. Amplifying voices “This first summit kicked off the power of community collaboration in healing one another and our environment,” explains Dr. Ndoh. “Now, the Black Environmental Collective is hosting follow-up conversations that will continue to spark ideas and action on behalf of overburdened and underfunded neighborhoods that need it most.”

and idea transformation into activities and solutions.

The group seeks to expand equitable and just outcomes, strengthen the voices of Black people within the environmental justice movement, and cre-

CARLOS THOMAS

food system. Use innovation to inspire communities to develop healthy habits. Establish dynamic relationships that put community at the forefront.

When students complete a Feed the Hood program, they gain a vivid understanding of what they can offer to the industry—and society at large. The model is designed to focus the demographic regardless of age, color, or ethnic origin at age 5 and older. Feed the Hood also serves as a voice of generations to end food insecurity.

Find out more about Feed the Hood. Log on to Facebook and friend

Feed the Hood PA. Visit Chef Carlos Thomas’ LinkedIn page. Or log on to justsaychef.com and click on Community: Feed the Hood

ate additional pathways to success for youth and burgeoning leaders within the sustainability sector.

The collective’s work spans several areas, such as environment/place, food, climate change, and quality of life.

The Black Environmental Collective’s authentic space is a place where leaders of color can nimbly, empathetically, and responsibly respond to the needs of Black populations as environmental emergencies persist and arise.

The group’s success is rooted in its belief in asking critical questions. Members serve to challenge and disrupt perpetually significant environmental threats and impacts in Black communities. They are committed to acknowledging and acting on the need to address systemic root causes of environmental discrimination and creating effective solutions for progress and sustainability.  Contact the collective via email at info@urbankind.org, call 412.431.4619.

CARLOS T. CARTER

(LEFT TO RIGHT) TINA NDOH, SALLY WENZEL, TIFFANY GARY-WEBB, JEANINE BUCHANICH, AND DARA MENDEZ, FACULTY FROM PITT’S SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

PPS Superintendent Wayne N. Walters, Ed.D., announces Lamar Blackwell as new Chief of Staff

The New Pittsburgh Courier has learned that Pittsburgh Public Schools

Superintendent Wayne N. Walters appointed Lamar D. Blackwell as the new Chief of Staff, effective May 23, 2024. The Board approved Blackwell’s appointment at its May 22 legislative session. As Chief of Staff, Blackwell will work closely with Dr. Walters, overseeing all areas of the District’s general administration.” I am excited to welcome Lamar Blackwell as the new Chief of Staff. He brings a wealth of experience, energy, innovative ideas, and leadership skills that will be invaluable in our pursuit of excellence in education,” said Dr. Walters. “This appointment marks a significant step towards enhancing our district’s operations and strategic initiatives, ensuring we continue to provide the best possible educational opportunities and experiences for our students.”

A proud Pittsburgh Perry High School graduate,

Blackwell expressed his enthusiasm about returning to the Pittsburgh Public Schools during this exciting period of transformation.

“As an Executive Leader who faced unparalleled adversity growing up, I understand the challenges that our students face on their road to success.

Continued Blackwell, “When God called me to return to the district that helped shape me, I answered the call.”

Before his appointment as Chief of Staff, Blackwell served as the Founding Executive Director of BUILD.org, where he successfully launched the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, region of the K-12 entrepreneurship education nonprofit. Under his leadership, the program established new strategic partnerships with 25 public and charter schools and collaborated with over 100 educators and 35 school leaders, leading to improved student engagement and standardized

test scores.

From 2020 to 2022, Blackwell served as the Pittsburgh Program Director & CEO of the Center for Employment Opportunities, where he created strategic direction for re-entrants. Before then, he served as the Chief of Staff and Director of Programs for the NEED Organization, where he worked alongside the CEO, ensuring minority students had equitable access to college education. Blackwell’s educational background is a testament to his commitment to learning and his preparation for leadership roles. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Secondary Education from Morehouse College. He also attended the 9th ranked dual-degree J.D. and M.P.A. Program in the Country, Georgia State University.

Valerie Dixon, community activist who lost son to gun violence, dies at 63

Violence, Moms of Murdered Children, and was the founder of the Prevent Another Crime Today organization. "Pittsburgh has lost another community advocate with the passing of Valerie Dixon," Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said in a statement. "She worked tirelessly to combat violence in our neighborhoods, especially after losing her beloved son, Robert. Let's offer our support and extend kindness to her family and friends as they grieve their loss. May her legacy of peace and understanding be a roadmap for how we all should continue to live."

During a funeral service for Dixon on Tuesday, June 11, at Wesley Center AME Zion Church in the Hill, Stevens said the three primary speakers were her brother, Bill Dixon, Toya Jones from Center for Vic-

tims, and Lueana Coward, whom Valerie Dixon referred to her as her sister. Coward and Dixon understood what each other was going through, as Coward lost all three of her sons to gun violence. At Center for Victims, on the South Side, Dixon served as a family and community support director. That's where she worked with Jones for many years.

"We always laughed about something," Stevens told the Courier. "I was impressed with how she always kept her spirits up. I don't know if I would have been able to handle the constant illness and setbacks. But she was passionate about her work." Stevens added about Valerie Dixon: "She used her passion, her hurt, her grief as an inspirational tool to assist others and to share her magnificent empathy."

‘She used her passion, her hurt, her grief as an inspirational tool to assist others and to share her magnificent empathy.’ TIM STEVENS, ON VALERIE DIXON

“And that you put on the NEW MAN, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying speaking every man truth with his neighbors: for we are MEMBERS one of another. Be angry but SIN NOT: let not the Sun go down upon your wrath

LAMAR BLACKWELL

DIXON FROM A1

PHOTO AT LEFT: VALERIE DIXON WITH FORMER PITTSBURGH MAYOR BILL PEDUTO; PHOTO ABOVE: VALERIE DIXON.

Some 30 years ago, WAMO began

‘Juneteenth’ celebrations in Pittsburgh Courier takes a historical look at Juneteenth in Pittsburgh

stuff, a lot of crazy antics, characters, and it brought a lot of energy to Pittsburgh,” Martin told the Courier. “So to be out there on the big stage with the WAMO family and fans, it was really amazing.”

If you’re an African American between the ages of 39 and 48, you probably were in high school during WAMO’s Juneteenth days. And if you didn’t get a chance to attend one of the events, chances are someone in your friend circle did attend. After all, it was only $1.06 to get into the WAMO Juneteenth celebration, even though in the later years, some of the night concerts had a higher ticket price.

When WAMO’s Juneteenth celebration officially ended is unknown, as the festival became known as “Summer Jam” come the turn of the 21st century and one could say, in recent years, “WAMO Day.” But from mid-2009 until 2011, there was no WAMO at all, as Sheridan Broadcasting Company decided to exit the local radio wars and sell the 106.7 FM signal to St. Joseph’s Missions for nearly $9 million.

In that years that followed after WAMO ended its Juneteenth celebrations, there would be a spatter of a Juneteenth celebration here and there by some Pittsburgh Black organizations, but nothing that was anywhere as impactful as WAMO’s events.

In 2013, William “B.” Marshall came along and started his version of Pittsburgh’s Juneteenth celebration, at Stage AE on the North Side, where, as Marshall tells it, there weren’t even 100 people who came out. But over the years, the Stop The Violence Pittsburgh/ Western Pennsylvania Juneteenth Celebration grew to over 1,000 people at Market Square, Downtown, in 2017, and then when it moved to Point State Park in 2018, the numbers became the numbers you’d see at a sold-out Pirates baseball game. “We never thought that (it would get that big), but we were persistent and we have enjoyed the growth and the development,” B. Marshall told the Courier exclusively in 2023.

Throughout the years that B. Marshall has held his Juneteenths, he’s watched the City of Pittsburgh, notably former mayor Bill Peduto, make Juneteenth an official holiday in the city. Then, in 2021, President Joe Biden signed the necessities to make Juneteenth a federal holiday (June 19). So, if you get the day off on June 19 and you still get paid, you know why... Nowadays, of course, Juneteenth is well-known. Its significance is that it marked the end of slavery for all African Americans in the country, when, on June 19, 1865, Gordon Granger, in Galveston, Tex., read “General Order No. 3,” “The people of Texas are informed that in accordance with a proclamation from an executive of the United States, all slaves are free.” The order came two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which attempted to free slaves in Confederate states but didn’t have the legal power to terminate slavery. Six months after “Juneteenth,” the 13th Amendment was ratified on Dec. 6, 1865, officially abolishing slavery in the U.S. B. Marshall’s Juneteenth celebration, which spans three days this year (June 14-16, 2024) at Point State Park, Downtown, also in-

cludes a Grand Jubilee Juneteenth Parade, which occurs, Saturday, June 15, through Downtown. It’s now one of the largest Juneteenth celebrations in the country. This year’s national artists scheduled to grace the Point State Park stage are: Beanie Sigel, Freeway and Arrested Development (Friday evening); Elle Varner, Brownstone and Keke Wyatt (Saturday evening); and Kelly Price and Stokley (Sunday evening). HipHop legend Master P is one of the grand marshals of the parade. All of the events at the Point for Juneteenth are free.

The Borough of Swissvale is holding its third-annual Juneteenth celebration at Les Getz Memorial Park from noon to 8 p.m., Sunday, June 23, featuring The Bill Henry Band, The Flow Band, and Rico Blu, along with a bike giveaway and other activities for kids.

“We want to celebrate all members of our community, and we think it’s important for people here on the East End to have something that’s easily accessible that they can have fun at,” said one of the Swissvale Juneteenth organizers, Shawn Alfonso-Wells. “Over here, we have a lot of people where it’s very comfortable for us, we have plenty of parking, we see our neighbors...for us, in terms of really being embedded in the community and showing Swissvale love for the different things that we’re doing, that’s why it’s important (for Swissvale to hold a Juneteenth celebration).”

Other Juneteenth celebrations in the Pittsburgh region include a celebration at the Homewood YMCA on Friday, June 14, from 3 to 6 p.m., presented by the Trade Institute of Pittsburgh. It will feature live entertainment, a kids’ zone, and speakers Rev. Cornell Jones, Leon Ford and Jason Rivers; a celebration in McKees Rocks, presented by Focus on Renewal, on Saturday, June 22, from noon to 4 p.m. next to the Roxian Theatre. The event features a foam machine, other activities for kids, performances and a DJ; a Juneteenth Black-owned Business Fair on Wednesday, June 19, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Fairview Park in Delmont, Westmoreland County, presented by the Greensburg-Jeanette NAACP; and a Freedom Day Celebration on Wednesday, June 19, from noon to 8 p.m. at Kulcher Kitchen & Bar, 2526 East Carson St., South Side, featuring performances, DJs, vendors, food and cocktails. The event is presented by Sheresa McCauley/Twisted Vision Company.

The City of Pittsburgh’s official Juneteenth celebration will occur on Saturday, June 29, at the Greenwood Plan Building, on Smithfield Street, featuring a number of local artists and performances.

As Juneteenth continues to see more celebrations in the Pittsburgh region year after year, it was the brainchild of Pittsburgh’s historic Black radio station that initially brought Juneteenth celebrations to the city. It’s because of WAMO’s Juneteenth that Beyonce first performed in Pittsburgh. It’s because of WAMO’s Juneteenth that Black parents and grandparents across the city are connected to those memories of flooding the South Side in their youth to celebrate their culture.

“At that time and space in my life, it was like being on top of the world, to be honest,” said Tee Jay, whose claim to fame was as co-host of WAMO’s night show in the late ‘90s with DJ Boogie. Fans

swarmed Tee Jay and DJ Boogie when they saw them at those Juneteenth celebrations in the late ‘90s, as the occasional sound of fireworks boomed from across the way at Three Rivers Stadium when the Pirates would hit a home run.

“WAMO, at that time, ruled Pittsburgh,” Tee Jay told the Courier. “Everybody listened to WAMO...WAMO was literally the heartbeat of the city...so being a part of that, being one of the featured jocks, it was great. Certainly some of the highlights of my life.”

KELLY ROWLAND AND BEYONCE KNOWLES OF DESTINY’S CHILD AT WAMO’S JUNETEENTH...

(StatePoint)—Finding

the love of your life can be tricky, but what can be even trickier is making sure you’re both on the same financial page before you walk down the aisle.

Meeting with a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional may not sound like the most romantic aspect of wedding planning, but

Addressing the future:

As a couple, it’s important to share your vision of what the future holds, whether that involves buying a home, raising children, traveling the world or planning for an early retirement. Now is the time to create a road map for achieving your individual and shared goals. This should include prac-

getting aligned on money matters can safeguard your relationship against one of the most common sources of marital strife. Here are a few ways a CFP® professional can help:

Getting aligned: A person’s “money story” is informed by how they were raised, experiences they’ve had or financial lessons they’ve learned —and everyone’s story is unique. A CFP® professional does more than crunch numbers. They help you understand your personal money story to facilitate productive discussions about spending, saving and other financial matters.

Addressing the past: If either of you brings debt to the marriage, it’s essential to be transparent about the type and amount of debt, even if you intend to keep your finances separate. Debt can affect your ability to pay for daily expenses and save for the future. Your financial advisor can help you create a repayment plan.

tical considerations, such as how you will divide financial responsibilities and whether you will combine your savings and investments. Having these conversations now can help you avoid surprises down the line.

Wedding budgeting:

A 2019 study from Lending Tree revealed that 45 percent of couples married within the previous two years accrued wedding-related debt, with nearly half of those couples contemplating divorce as a result. A CFP® professional can help you avoid debt and create a realistic budget that prioritizes which wedding day expenses are most important to you.

Special considerations: Your financial plan may involve special considerations. For example, if you’re over age 50 and marrying for the second time, you may want to focus on retirement, legacies and living wills. If you’re part of the LGTBQ+ community and live

Financial stability is a goal that many people strive for, but the path to achieving it can be filled with uncertainty. When it comes to managing your money effectively, there are several key strategies to consider: saving, investing, paying off debt, and creating wiggle room in your budget. Each of these plays a crucial role in your financial well-being, but the question remains, what comes first? Let’s delve into each of these aspects and explore the best approach to building a solid financial foundation. Saving: The Foundation of Financial Security

Saving money is how you build your money muscles. Saving money is how you build financial stability, financial security and ultimately how you build wealth. Building up your savings account provides you with a financial cushion to fall back on in case of emergencies, unexpected expenses, or job loss. It’s generally recommended that you have an emergency fund that can cover three to six months’ worth of living expenses. This safety net can help you avoid going into debt when life throws you a curveball. When it comes to saving, consistency is key. Setting up automatic transfers to your savings account each

by Bomikazi Zeka University of Canberra

Planning for retirement is important because it will help you build the nest egg you’ll need to financially sustain your retirement years.

Past studies have shown that those who plan for their retirement are more likely to be better off at retirement compared to those don’t.

The sooner the planning process gets underway, the better. This gives your money more time to grow by generating investment returns. And the income from your first job is your first opportunity to save for retirement. As the saying goes: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.”

As people can expect to live longer, they must save more for retirement so that they don’t outlive their savings. This is particularly true given that the pensions landscape worldwide has undergone some major changes.

In the past, governments and employers provided retirement income for individuals through government social security benefits and employment-based retirement funds. Because of increasing life expectancies, pension plans that guaranteed a retirement benefit to employees are now rare. Employees are now responsible for making contribu-

tions towards their own pensions as well as choosing the investments offered by the pension fund.

Since employers are no longer responsible for funding their employees’ retirement and governments lack resources to provide a universal state pension, each person is ultimately responsible for ensuring they have enough retirement savings. So it’s very important to know the basics of the retirement planning process.

As a researcher, I’m interested in how people use

it’s always a good idea to speak to a financial planner for tailored financial advice.

If you haven’t given retirement planning much thought or don’t know where to start, here are four points to help get the ball rolling.

What are my retirement goals?

Retirement goals make you think about what you want to achieve by the time you retire and what you need to do to achieve it. Some people may have a goal in mind about when

tainable, relevant and timebound. When goals are clear, within reach, achievable, realistic and time-sensitive, they become a blueprint to help you turn them into a reality. How do I start saving for retirement?

month can help you build your savings steadily over time. It’s essential to prioritize saving a portion of your income before allocating funds to other financial goals. By making saving a priority, you lay the groundwork for a secure financial future.

Investing: Building Wealth for the Long Term Investing is a powerful tool for growing your wealth over time.

While saving helps you preserve your money, investing allows you to make your money work for you. By putting your money into assets like stocks, bonds, real estate, mutual funds or exchange traded funds, you have the potential to earn returns that outpace inflation and build long-term wealth.

financial products to overcome economic challenges and build wealth. One of the things I investigate is whether planning for retirement leads to better retirement outcomes. For instance, my research has found that individuals whose financial affairs are in order are more likely to maintain their standard of living at retirement.

Given that everyone’s financial situation is unique,

they want to retire, or how much wealth they’d like to have by the time they retire. And since wealth has different meanings for different people, others may think about maintaining or improving their standard of living at retirement.

Once you’ve thought about your retirement goals, the “smart” goals framework is a useful guide. It outlines that goals should be: specific, measurable, at-

into investing. However, if you have a solid financial foundation in place, investing can be a crucial step towards achieving your long-term financial objectives.

Paying Off

When deciding whether to save or invest, consider your financial goals and time horizon. If you have high-interest debt or lack an emergency fund, it may be wise to prioritize saving and debt repayment before diving

Debt: Clearing the Path to Financial Freedom Debt can be a significant obstacle on your journey to financial security. Debt payments swallow up disposable income and hinders one’s ability to either consistently save or save aggressively. High-interest debt, such as credit card debt or payday loans, is a sign of overspending. These debts will generally be prioritized to be paid off first because they carry the highest interest rate and the lowest balance. Whether you’re working the debt avalanche which prioritizes debt payoff based on the highest interest rate or the debt snowball which prioritizes debt based on the lowest balance, credit card debt and payday loan debt

For those who have a job that comes with retirement fund membership, a workplace pension is used to provide for retirement. But there are also other options available to help you save. For instance, retirement annuity funds are voluntary retirement savings. Personal assets such as unit trusts or tax-free investments can also be used as a savings tool. Unit trusts are generally better suited for people willing to take on risk because their value is tied to the movements of financial markets. In other words, they can generate positive returns but they can also lose value. The drawback of tax-free investments in South Africa is that they have a lifetime contribution limit. You can’t use them to save more than R500,000 (US$27,400). Each of these options has its advantages and disadvantages and what works best for one person may not be best for another. But there are several ways to save for retirement depending on your financial situation and retirement

will be the top priority. The number one rule when it comes to paying off debt is stop borrowing! You borrow your way out of debt. Prioritizing debt repayment can free up your cash flow, reduce financial stress, and improve your credit score. By tackling your debt aggressively, you can pave the way for a brighter financial future. Creating Wiggle Room: Flexibility in Your Budget

Having wiggle room in your budget boils down to you acting your wage and living below your means. Budgeting and managing cash flow effectively are crucial steps in creating financial stability. Creating wiggle room in your budget involves optimizing your spending to free up extra money that can be allocated towards savings, investing, or debt repayment. By examining your expenses and identifying areas where you can cut back or eliminate unnecessary costs, you can create financial breathing room and increase your financial flexibility. Wiggle room in your budget can also help you adapt to unexpected financial challenges or take advantage of opportunities as they arise. By living below your means and being mindful

for you. Will my retirement savings be enough?

Once you’ve set your retirement goals and have a retirement savings plan in place, you can calculate whether you are saving enough to achieve your retirement goals.

For example, if your retirement goal is: “I want to retire at the age of 65 years with an income equivalent to R35,000 (US$1,900) per month” then you can use a retirement calculator to track your progress and determine whether you need to make adjustments to meet your goals.

You might have to increase the monthly amount you’re putting away for retirement or reconsider your retirement age. The retirement calculators are also a useful tool for regular check-ins on your progress should your financial situation change—for example, if you change employers and earn a different salary. What other issues should I consider?

It’s also important to think about your lifestyle and priorities.

For instance:

• do you aim to retire with your mortgage settled?

• are there debts you plan to clear before you retire or children who need

financial support at retirement?

• would you like to renovate your home?

• would you like to buy a new car when you reach retirement age?

Another important consideration is healthcare costs. Many people assume that they will be able to work indefinitely and overlook the fact that healthcare costs may increase with age.

Starting early matters

Many people plan to work after retirement age, while others don’t plan to retire at all. It may be that they can’t afford to. They may have accessed their retirement benefits too soon, made inconsistent retirement fund contributions, or had to pay high administrative costs that eroded the final value of a retirement payout. So best be prepared. Retirement may seem like a distant event to plan and save for, especially when there are more pressing financial needs. It’s important to think about the financial decisions you make now that may cost you in the future. If you start to plan for your retirement now, your future self will thank you for it.

(Bomikazi Zeka, Assistant Professor in Finance and Financial Planning, University of Canberra) (This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.)

Are you and

your

fiancée on the same financial page?

FIANCEE FROM B1

in a state without robust anti-discrimination laws, you’ll want to ensure that your strategy protects you both. Your financial advisor can walk you through what to consider based on your circumstances. Don’t wait until you’ve tied the knot to address important financial issues with your spouse. Let a CFP® professional

who will be committed to acting in your best interests get the ball rolling. To get started, visit LetsMakeAPlan.org. Conversations about money are not always easy. However, setting a precedent for open communication around money during your engagement can pave the way for a healthy marriage.

Sisters revitalize hometown legacy with acquisition of 90-year-old newspaper

by Amber Ogden Michigan Chronicle

In a transformative move for their hometown of Youngstown, OH, Dontaira Terrell, and Zakkiyyah Terrell White, Esq. have cemented their commitment to community empowerment by acquiring the esteemed publication known as “The Voice of the Valley,” the “Buckeye Review Newspaper.” They are the 6th family owners in history since the 1937 newspaper started. This historic acquisition marks a milestone in their entrepreneurial journey and signifies a renewed dedication to amplifying local and Black voices and preserving the region’s cultural heritage.

The Buckeye Review is a dynamic publication that skillfully combines in-depth coverage of local events with insightful global perspectives. It takes pride in showcasing diverse cultures, amplifying the voices of young individuals, and wholeheartedly embracing digital advancements. The publication’s overarching mission is to serve as a platform for marginalized communities, advocate for the betterment of society, and uphold the principles of honesty and integrity in reporting. Dontaira has become editor-in-chief and co-owner of the Buckeye Review, while her sister Zakkiyyah has

of your spending, you can build a stronger financial foundation and achieve your financial goals more efficiently.

The question remains, which comes first? In order to manage your money both effectively and efficiently, there’s a particular order I recommend. Working your plan in this order will help you avoid the debt trap and prevent from tapping into your savings and investments prematurely.

1. Creating Wiggle Room: The truth of the matter is, you can’t pay off debt, save, or invest if you have no margin or wiggle room between your income and expenses. In fact, the more margin you have between your income and expenses, the faster you can pay off debt, save money, and build wealth. Before you start saving, investing, or paying off debt, it’s essential to establish a budget that allows for some flexibility. This ensures that unexpected expenses or emergencies can be covered without disrupting your financial plans.

assumed the position of chief operating officer.

“There wasn’t one thing that sparked this (taking ownership of the Buckeye Review); it was more of a question of why not? We know we have what it takes to be successful. We have both worked independently for other people; she’s (Dontaira) been a freelance journalist. I’ve been an entrepreneur, a serial entrepreneur. I’m always starting something, growing something, and trying something out. So, really, it was, “Well, why not? We know we can do it,” Zakkiyyah said. For Dontaira and Zakkiyyah, this transition is more than a business venture. It’s a return to their roots, a reconnection with a publication that has been a part of their community for almost 90 years.

Zakkiyyah interned at the newspaper 30 years ago while in high school and continued through her time at Howard University. She recalls while in undergrad having an internship at the newspaper. Now, she is a licensed attorney with an MBA in multiple businesses. Dontaira’s first byline, which many believe kickstarted her journalism career when she was nine, is not just memories but threads that weave their personal histories with the newspaper’s legacy.

Dontaira is a lifestyle journalist who has been featured in various publications, including BET, VH1, MTV, The Recording Academy, Andscape, USA Today, Bustle, and Shondaland. She has also interviewed numerous celebrities, such as Tyler Perry, Regina King, Michael B. Jordan, Halle Berry, Gabrielle Union, Issa Rae, and Taraji P. Henson.

“That’s the beauty of being able to work alongside Zakkiyyah because we complement each other. She handles the business aspect, including contracts, trademarks, and everyday business operations. Then I can stand in my greatness on the editorial side, and she can stand in her greatness, and then we’ll come together in different capacities at some point. Whenever we need to review things, but for the most part, she’s amazing. All of this is what is helping us build this legacy,” Dontaira said.

As proud graduates of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) such as Florida A&M University and Howard University, Dontaira and Zakkiyyah feel a deep sense of responsibility towards their communities. They both see this as an opportunity to showcase marginalized communities’ diversity and cultural wealth and uplift and celebrate the

often overlooked unique narratives and experiences, especially in the Black community. Their commitment to community empowerment and cultural preservation is a call to action for all who share their vision.

“Something we are both excited about is the cross-generational approach. I want my daughter, who’s nine, soon to be 10 when she picks up the paper, and when our dad, who turned 70, picks up the paper, I want them both to look forward to opening their mailbox every month knowing that there is something in there for them both. That cross-generational approach,” Zakkiyah said. “Getting back to “it takes a village,” getting back to the respect factor of knowing that others have something to offer you, not necessarily that they’re older than you or more educated than you but more based on the fact we can all learn something from everybody. And so our paper will showcase that.”

The Buckeye Review is currently circulated in over 200 cities across 26 states and is growing. To read the latest edition and updates, visit buckeyereview.com.

(Amber Ogden is currently a Michigan Chronicle staff writer and can be reached via email at aogden@michronicle. com.)

2. Paying Off Debt: High-interest debt, such as credit card debt and payday loans, should typically be tackled first. Paying off these debts will increase your cash flow enabling you to tackle the bigger debts such as car loans, student loans, and mortgages. By paying off debt, you can reduce the burden of interest payments, increase your margin between income and expenses and improve your financial health.

3. Saving: First you create the margin between income and expenses. Before you start the process of paying off debt, you should create a starter emergency fund of $1,000. Having this starter emergency fund will prevent you from turning to credit cards when life throws you a curveball. After those pesky debts are paid, you want to focus on building a fully funded emergency fund. This fund should cover 3-6 months’ worth of expenses and serve as a financial safety net. If you’re actively saving for a down payment on a house or saving

money to purchase a big-ticket item, you’d do that here after you’ve created some wiggle room and paid off debts.

4. Investing: When it comes to investing, the sooner you start, the better. I recommend that you contribute a minimum of 3 percent towards your retirement while you’re in the process of getting your financial house in order including creating wiggle room in your budget, paying down debt, and building a savings cushion. After paying off debts and establishing a fully funded emergency fund, you can up your retirement contribu -

tion to 10 percent. You’d want to eventually increase it to 15 percent. Once you’re saving 15 percent towards retirement, and you have extra money to invest, you can focus on investing to build wealth. In summary, the recommended order is creating wiggle room, paying off debt, saving for emergencies, and then investing for the future. Each step builds upon the previous one, setting a strong foundation for your financial journey. (Damon

SISTERS—ZAKKIYYAH TERRELL WHITE, ESQ., DONTAIRA TERRELL

Guest Editorial

America will survive if Trump goes to prison

Guilty, guilty, guilty….

Former President Donald J. Trump was recently convicted by a Manhattan jury of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal that threatened to derail his 2016 campaign for The White House.

The convictions made him the first former president of the United States to be convicted of a crime.

Trump will report back to the courthouse in New York City on July 11 to be sentenced by Juan Manuel Merchan, a Colombian-born American judge and former prosecutor.

The Republican National Convention will commence in Minneapolis on July 15. On the evening of July 18, Trump will formally accept, for the third time, the GOP nomination for president.

A convicted felon, twice impeached, leader of the January 6, 2021, insurrection against the U.S. Government, and former president of the United States, is the leader of the Republican Party. As skeptical as it is in American politics, Trump’s felon status does not prevent him from seeking the nation’s highest elective office.

Indeed, White privilege continues to dominate the current, cult-driven political party of President Abraham Lincoln. Does any rational thinking person believe for one moment that former President Barack Obama would have been elected or reelected as either a charged or convicted criminal, with one, much less 34, convictions? Of course not! And rightfully so. So now America eagerly awaits Trump’s sentencing date of July 11. Will he go to prison? Or won’t he?

If Judge Merchan sentences Trump to prison, America will survive.

America has survived a Civil War, two World Wars, the Great Depression, wars in Korea and Vietnam, the resignation of one president due to criminal behavior, the assassinations of four sitting presidents, the Civil Rights Movement, the assassinations of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy within 68 days of one another,  COVID-19, and a physical attack on the U.S. Capitol 14 days before President Joe Biden assumed the presidency.

However, Americans must not rely on Trump being sent to prison to halt his current threat to American Democracy. Our justice system cannot, and will not, save us from Trump returning to The White House.

That can only be done by each of us at the polls on Nov. 5. We must exercise our constitutional right to vote in elections at the national, state, and local levels of government.

(Reprinted from the Washington Informer)

Daisy Bates left her mark on others!

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—We have not had a lot in the news lately about which we could cheer, but we’re blessed that occasionally there’s something we can call positive.  May 8, 2024 was such a day. A memorial to Daisy Bates was celebrated in the U.S. Capitol. It was a long time coming, but it finally happened!  The strangest thing about the program was that people whose fore parents were totally opposed to the work Ms. Bates did when she became a leader and key supporter of the nine students who integrated Little Rock Central High School in the school year 1957-58.  That included the current Governor and Congressman of Arkansas. Benjamin Victor, the artist who did the sculptor, did a masterful job on the full body bronze statue of Ms. Bates.  The statue is located in Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol. Ms. Bates and her husband, L.C. were publishers of the Arkansas State Press.  They were leaders in their community. They had the courage to use their newspaper to focus on the African American community and their civil rights.

While her husband worked for the NAACP and she served on its Board, she took a public role in voter registration, anti-poverty programs and once Brown v. Board of Education became law, she took on the role of integrating Central High School—a dangerous undertaking

to say the least.

Recently I met three women who lived in Arkansas at the time, and pretty much had a front row place in what was happening.  I spoke with Sarah Davidson, Bernice Bass Abner and Janice Kearney who knew a lot about Ms. Bates and their lives were impacted by the work of Ms. Bates.

I was still in high school at the time I learned about the leadership of Ms. Bates in working to implement the law on Black and White children attending school together. I learned about the Arkansas governor, Orval Faubus, who was determined to stand in the way of that happening. I remember hearing about the Little Rock 9, and later met some of them.  These were the students chosen to go into Central High School and make it their high school, too.

Recently I learned that Ms. Bernice Bass Abner is the daughter of Rev. William Harry Bass who was called on to accompany the Little Rock 9 children on the first day of school at the segregated Central High School.  Of course, the students were not welcomed and did

not get into Central High that day.

I met Janice Kearney who is the author of a book about the situation. She’s a former personal diarist to President Bill Clinton and a former publisher who revived the Arkansas Weekly Press founded by L.C. and Daisy Bates. Their paper once had a nationwide readership of thousands. She also published a creative non-fiction book on the life of civil rights legend Daisy Bates.  It’s called A Rock and A Hard Place.

Ms. Sarah Davidson grew up in Arkansas and knows a lot about Ms. Bates’ work to integrate the schools.  She was a civil rights advocate and social justice fighter at an early age. Her contributions became a catalyst that would change the course of history in her hometown. She was mentored by Ms. Bates, established the North Little Rocks’ first NAACP Youth Council and served as its first President.  She was strongly touched seeing the 4 Black women with memorials in the U.S. Capitol and was honored to participate in the unveiling of the memorial.  She was nominated by former Arkansas Senator Blanche Lincoln to serve on the Congressional Task Force for a Memorial to Slaves who helped to build the U.S. Capitol—a significant fact often forgotten in our history. Let’s VOTE TO REMEDY THAT!

(Dr. E. Faye Williams, President of The Dick Gregory Society.)

Felon In Chief

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—Now that the former President and the candidate for future President has been convicted of thirty-four felonies, he joins 19 million other Americans who have such convictions.  Those felons face major restrictions in employment, finance, and housing.  For example, federal, state, and local government jobs often require a security clearance, which felons often cannot qualify for.  In some areas, felons are disqualified from teaching jobs.  It is challenging for felons to be admitted to the bar, which they must do to practice law.  They can’t work in jails.  Felons often do not qualify for professional licenses, from real estate licenses to barber certification.  They are often excluded from providing either child case or elder care.  In the health care area, felony convictions may disqualify people from working as a physician, nurse, or pharmacist.  In some instances, felons can’t get a pilot’s license, or a commercial driver’s license.  Felony convictions can sometime prevent people from getting loans, or even rental housing.  There are enormous biases against those who have been convicted of felonies, but that bias is not likely to affect Donald Trump, and even if it did, it wouldn’t matter.  He is shielded by his wealth and his status, and his behavior during his trial indicates that he respects neither the rule of law nor those who work in law enforcement.  In other words, absent a large fine or incarceration, the former President experiences no consequences for his illegal action. Meanwhile, according to the Sentencing Project report “The Color of Justice”, as many as a third of African American men have felony

convictions.  They are barred from employment and prevented from fully participating in society.  Despite laws that “ban the box” by preventing employers from asking about criminal records early in the application process, the intersection between criminal bias and racial bias often leaves African American men (and women) at the periphery of society. Trump’s supporters suggest his conviction is “political”, but one might say the same thing about Black convicted felons, many who, like the Central Park Five, we set up by so-called law enforcement.  Or there’s the case of Darien Harris, the Illinois Black man who spent twelve years in jail because of the false testimony of a blind eyewitness.  Black men experience miscarriages of justice every single day.  Donald Trump did not experience a miscarriage of justice.  Instead, District Attorney Alvin Bragg meticulously showed the former president’s pattern of fiscal malfeasance.  He used people still loyal to the felon make the case against him.  The former president somehow thinks his criminal case will buy him sympathy, or affinity, with Black people.  This is, at best, amusing.  It is also warped and cynical. If incarcerated, the former President will have Secret Service protection wherever he serves.  Ironically, with his felony conviction, he could not

even be a member of the Secret Service.  It is also ironic that two Trump employees were incarcerated for following the ex-president’s orders, but ringleader Trump may be able to avoid incarceration because of his former status. Michael Cohen served three years for tax fraud and was disbarred.  Alan Weisselberg is incarcerated now, spending five months for tax fraud and five months for perjury.   It is, at best, unseemly for the President of the United States to be a convicted felon.  Indeed, thirty-eight countries (including the United States) deny entry to felons.  Those countries include G-7 countries Japan, Canada and the United Kingdom.  Mexico, Israel, India, New Zealand, and Australia also bar felons from entry.  So do many African countries including Kenya and Tanzania, but the former President would not likely want to go to countries that he vulgarly disparaged.  If the felon wanted to go to these countries, leaders would probably make an exception for him, but that just points out the privilege Trump has that millions of other felons don’t. Many felons have been disenfranchised, but Trump won’t be.  Although Florida makes it difficult for felons to vote, Governor Ron DeSantis has already said he will exempt Trump from voting restrictions.  Imagine that there was a one-vote difference in the Florida popular vote between Biden and Trump in the 2024 election. The felon could be a decider in his own victory, hardly fair. Those who believe in justice must work to ensure that we don’t have a Felon-in-Chief in the White House. (Dr. Julianne Malveaux is an economist and author.  Juliannemalveaux.com)

Johnson Sales Director Rob Taylor Jr. Managing Editor

John. H. Sengstacke

By now most Americans, but not all, have either heard of Project 2025 or seen some reference to it. But too many still don’t know how this radical blueprint will change life in this country as we know it. The sad truth of the matter is the plan is hidden in plain view where we all can see it, but few are paying attention, other than those who have planned the changes. The plan is called Project 2025, known as the Presidential Transition Project. This project will make widespread changes across our entire government in economic and social policies and the role of the federal government and its agencies. The main idea behind these proposed changes, as put out by the Heritage Institute, is what is called an Executive Theory which asserts that the president has absolute power over the executive branch of our government under what is called, “A Unitary Executive Theory interpretation of Article II of the Constitution of the United States.”

This plan is designed for a “Republican President” such as seen with the Donald Trump Presidential candidacy for 2025. Under this plan the following changes would take place, some immediately: (1) Slashing funding for the Department of Justice (DOJ); (2) Dismantling the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); (3) Eliminating the Department of Commerce and ending the independence of various federal agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC),

and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); (4) Abolishing the Department of Education; (5) Removal of protections against discrimination based on sexual or gender identity; and (6) Termination of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs as well as affirmative action.

Project 2025 advises the future president to immediately deploy the military for domestic law enforcement and to direct the DOJ to pursue Trump’s adversaries by invoking the Insurrection of Act of 1807. It recommends the arrest, detention, and deportation of undocumented immigrants across the country. It promotes capital punishment and the speedy “finality” of such sentences. Although the project does not promote a specific candidate, many contributors have close ties to Donald Trump and his presidential campaign. This project is proposed under what the Heritage Foundation calls its “Mandate for Leadership” and has been publishing this list of proposed changes to run parallel with each presidential election since 1981. It calls this Mandate its “Policy Bible”.

Project 2025 has been developed in

collaboration with over 100 partners. The Heritage Foundation president, Kevin Roberts, established Project 2025 in 2022 to provide the 2024 Republican presidential nominee a personnel database and ideological framework after civil servants refused to support Trump during his attempt to institute a Muslim travel ban, and his effort to install a new attorney general to help with his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Clearly the issue is not just Donald Trump, rather those who would use him or like-minded candidates for the Presidency to overthrow the United States government as it now exists with a Constitutionally based separation of powers. The only safeguard against this concrete plan to destroy America as it now exists is for “We the People” to prepare now to vote in the November election. We can no longer count on the United States Supreme Court which appears to have abandoned the very rule of law it was empowered to protect. It appears we can no longer depend upon the United States Congress which appears to have abandoned its legislative duties and oath of office by which the Republican members swore to “protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic” and substituted that oath with a commitment to a convicted felon. The question

John E. Warren

Julianne Malveaux

A social justice revival

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—At some point, every child, teenager, and young adult should have an awareness of the full story behind the Black Wall Street massacre that occurred in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The story of Greenwood is not only about racial resentment and violence; it is also a success story. There is a sense of racial pride that comes from seeing how the people of Greenwood became prosperous. The history of Greenwood gives hope and inspiration when the focus is on how the affluent community was built and developed rather than how it was painfully destroyed.

Greenwood gives proof and examples of how Black entrepreneurs were capable of creating vast wealth despite the tremendous obstacles put forth by racial discrimination and Jim Crow segregation. With segregation laws that prevented Black residents from shopping in White neighborhoods along with the desire and commitment of Blacks to keep money circulating within their own community, Greenwood residents collectively funneled their cash into local Black businesses. Segregation produced a captive marketplace where Black entrepreneurs prospered.

In 1921, Greenwood was considered by many to be the most prosperous Black enclave in the nation. The sophisticated and self-sustained community consisted of banks, hotels, barbershops and salons, clothing stores, jewelers, restaurants, churches, taverns, grocers, movie theaters, and contemporary homes. The children were well-educated by a superior school system, and it was not uncommon to see residents stylishly dressed or driving luxury motorcars. But in a span of 24 hours, the 35 city blocks making up the Greenwood community were burned to the ground. The Tulsa Race Massacre Commission reported that 100 to 300 people were killed. As many as 10,000 people were left homeless.

The 1921 massacre was called the worst public disturbance since the Civil War. Today, the incident is cited as one of the most horrific acts of racial violence and domestic terrorism ever committed in the U.S., and yet it was hardly known or mentioned. For years, America largely ignored the Black Wall Street events throughout mainstream history books. The story illustrates the legacy of Black independence and entrepreneurship and the subsequent White backlash. Whenever there is substantial progress on behalf of Blacks, there will always be some reaction extending from White supremacy.

As the residents of Greenwood gained a strong

David W. Marshall Commentary

foothold within the City of Tulsa, it came with power and potential to effect meaningful economic and social change. As a result, the socioeconomic progress of Blacks in the Greenwood District became a major threat to the city’s White-dominated power structure. The upper-class lifestyle of Greenwood residents was a slap in the face to the Black inferiority narrative given by many Whites. When an angry White mob destroyed Black business establishments and homes, it was to ensure that White superiority would always be maintained. Throughout history, there have been three American eras of reconstruction. The first reconstruction marks the period immediately following the end of the Civil War. It saw the defeat of the Confederacy, the emancipation of formerly enslaved people, and the rise of discriminatory laws such as Black codes aimed at restricting economic, educational, and social advancement for Blacks. The Black Wall Street massacre occurred during this time. The second reconstruction is known as the Civil Rights Movement, which started at the end of WWII and continued through the late 1960s. It culminated with the end of legal racial segregation. Some historians and sociologists mark the election of President Barack Obama, the first president of color, as the start of the third reconstruction. It also covers the rise of racial and social justice movements like Black Lives Matter with its ensuing backlash. The backlash to the Obama presidency is in the form of the weakening of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court and the flurry of voter suppression laws in states nationwide. The overall attack against DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) is a hostile response to the George Floyd movement.

During the first two reconstruction eras, the Black church was considered the center and heart of the Black community. According to the research of Professor Henry Louis Gates, Black churches were the first institutions built by Black people and run independently of White society. The church provided a refuge for a people systematically brutalized by slavery and then by Jim Crow racism. Leaders from Black churches were at the forefront of the fight for justice. Today, the influence of the Black church is declining. Nearly half of Black millennials and Gen-Zers seldom or never attend church. If the third reconstruction involves the rise of a social justice movement, then there needs to be a social justice revival within the Black church. A revival that balances tradition and legacy with an evolving 2024 society. The third reconstruction will have a long-lasting impact on younger generations. One powerful lesson from the Greenwood District is unity. The lesson is “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” The weakest link becomes the point of failure. The Greenwood residents understood that they had to depend upon the success of each individual and each group in becoming a strong, self-sustained unit. When the Greenwood District was destroyed, they destroyed the prototype model from which other communities could follow in becoming prosperous. Communities nationwide may no longer have the captive marketplace due to segregation; however, Black residents can still maintain the desire and commitment to support Black businesses, banks, and newspapers.

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

The Ayatollah adopts American students

The History Channel ran a series called History vs. Hollywood. Each episode examined a biopic or historical epic to determine whether the film accurately reflected historical events. The series revealed that Hollywood tended to mythologize the past rather than be historically accurate.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, recently sent an open letter to American university students protesting Israel’s war on Hamas.

Khamenei praised their “awakened consciousness,” which propelled them to defend the oppressed people of Gaza. However, Khamenei’s letter was more mythologizing than Hollywood could even imagine.

Khamenei began by informing the American students that the pages of history were turning, and they were on the right side of it. Former United States President Barack Obama frequently discussed being on the right or wrong side of history. Being on “the right side of history” meant supporting specific activities or political viewpoints that promoted progress, social justice, and change.

Most media agencies referred to Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attack as the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, but Khamenei mythologized it as a turning point in history. According to Khamenei, October 7 symbolizes the start of Israel’s downfall.

After the American students announced their solidarity with Palestine, Khamenei said the American students had formed a branch of the Resistance Front.

Khamenei wrote, “The Greater Resistance Front, which shares the same understanding and feelings that you have today, has engaged in the same struggle for many years in a place far from you. The goal of this struggle is to put an end

J. Pharoah Doss Check

It Out

to the blatant oppression that the brutal Zionist terrorist network has inflicted on the Palestinian nation for many years.”

A loose network of proxies (such as Hamas and Hezbollah), Iranian-backed militant groups, and related state entities make up Iran’s Greater Resistance Front, allowing Iran to exercise power and achieve its strategic objectives while maintaining plausible deniability. What is Iran’s primary objective?

In 2020, Khamenei declared that Iran wants to destroy Israel. Khamenei added, “Eliminating the Zionist regime doesn’t mean eliminating Jews. We aren’t against Jews. It means abolishing the imposed regime [so] Palestinians [can] choose their own government and expel thugs like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This is eliminating Israel, [and] it will happen.”

Whether the American students opposing Israel’s war against Hamas recognized it or not, Iran’s Supreme Leader has adopted them in order to exert influence in this regard.

To further indoctrinate the newest branch of the Resistance Front, Khamenei recounted the history of the “Apartheid Zionist regime.”

Khamenei explained, “After the world war, the capitalist Zionist network gradually imported several thousand terrorists into this land with the help of the British government. These terrorists attacked cities and villages, murdered

tens of thousands of people, and pushed out multitudes into neighboring countries. They seized their homes, businesses, and farmlands, formed a government in the usurped land of Palestine, and called it Israel.”

According to Khamenei and the Greater Resistance Front, this is how the state of Israel was founded, and based on this interpretation of events, they believe Israel should be eradicated from the face of the planet.

Amateur historians will not deny the horrific clashes between Arabs and Jews in the British mandate of Palestine between World Wars I and II, but even an amateur historian is aware that the British partitioned the area, establishing a Jewish state and an Arab state in Palestine. The Arabs rejected the plan. The Jews accepted their portion. A civil war erupted between the two camps. Then, five Arab nations attacked Israel in an attempt to abort the birth of a nation, but Israel defeated the Arab armies and won independence.

Khamenei asked the American students two rhetorical questions:

1). Can one call a people a terrorist nation for defending themselves on their own land against the crimes of the occupying Zionists?

2). Is helping such a nation and strengthening it an act of terrorism?

If the students accept Khamenei’s mythologizing of history, they will only conclude, “no,” and once they reach that conclusion, they will be open to even more of Khamenei’s mythologizing of events.

JFK once said the great enemy of truth is not the lie—deliberate, contrived, and dishonest—but the myth—persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Regrettably, when Israelis refute the myth, they get accused of lying.

Louisiana regresses into Medieval era

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—“This new law is solely vengeance and lacks any evidence of effectiveness and is aimed at a despised and powerless population that already is subject to dozens of draconian post-conviction collateral consequences. There is virtually no evidence that increasing punishments will have any impact on sexual recidivism.”—St. Francis College sociology professor

Emily Horowitz

Not to be outdone by other southern states trying to regress to the Jim Crow era, my home state of Louisiana is trying to regress to the Medieval era.

A barbaric proposal to allow judges to sentence certain convicted sex offenders to surgical castration passed the legislature and awaits Gov. Landry’s signature. Louisiana would become the first state with such a law, joining the ranks of nations like Pakistan and Nigeria.

The bill has been compared to the Tuskegee Study and Josef Mengele’s experiments at Auschwitz II-Birkenau.

Child sexual abuse is a heinous crime with devastating consequences. It is also the crime with the highest rate of perjury or false accusations. In recent years, Orleans Parish in Louisiana has been called the wrongful conviction cap-

Marc H. Morial

To Be Equal

ital of the United States, with 10 times the number of exonerations per capita than the national average. And Black people are eight times more likely to be wrongly convicted than a White person for a crime involving sexual violence.

Even the sponsor of the bill acknowledged Louisiana’s appallingly high rate of wrongful convictions.

The proposal raises the question of whether Catholic priests in the Archdiocese of New Orleans—currently the target of an active child sex-trafficking investigation—would be subject to the draconian punishment.

While Louisiana lawmakers clearly are desperate to portray themselves as tough on crime, their brutal proposal is unlikely to prevent a single assault. Researchers have found no cause-and-effect relationship between

testosterone levels and sexual offending.  On the other hand, psychological treatment has been shown to reduce recidivism among sex offenders. It would be naïve to assume that preventing crime is the chief motivation behind this bill, however. Earlier this year, even as violent crime rates were falling, Louisiana rolled back criminal justice reforms that had saved the state more than $150 million.

Severe sentences do not deter crime, retribution often does not help survivors of crime heal, and the U.S. sentencing system overestimates who is a current danger to the community and when incarceration is needed for public safety, as a Vera Institute of Justice report makes clear.

Just as State Sen. Royce Duplessis noted when Louisiana was in the process of rolling back its effective criminal justice reforms, the state continues to prioritize political grandstanding over effective public safety.

“We could have actually done a lot of things to prevent crime on the frontend, instead of continuing to advance policies that do great for campaigns, but do very little to actually prevent crime,” he said.

Brown vs. Board, 70 years later

by Rev. Norman Franklin The Cincinnati Herald

BlackPressUSA—Overview:

• The Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954 altered the social landscape in America, challenging segregation and promoting equality.

• Despite progress, current setbacks include extremist rhetoric, restrictive voter legislation, and efforts to prohibit accurate history in school curricula.

The Brown vs. Board of Education decision handed down by the Warren Court in 1954 changed the social landscape in America. Particularly in the southern region where Jim Crow laws mandated separation of the races.

The Fourteenth Amendment armed the former slaves with the constitutional rights of due process of law and equal protection of the law.

The Fifteenth Amendment gave the new citizens the right to vote. [Editor’s note: The 15th amendment, ratified on Feb. 3, 1870, gave the right to vote to all male citizens regardless of their ethnicity or prior slave status].

It was well into the twentieth century before the Fifteenth Amendment was fully exercised. It took decades of struggles, protest and demonstrations, and murder before the apartheid south was bought under the law of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Blacks would use the intent of these laws to challenge systemic social and political attitudes prohibiting the exercise of their constitutional rights.

The law was subject to interpretation. Interpretation of the law lays on the altar of perspective. For example, the recalcitrant White culture encoded Jim Crow laws to defy the rule of the new social order. Blacks, never obsequious, used the intent of the law to fight back.

Homer Plessy challenged Jim Crow laws that prohibited Blacks from the use of public facilities, from riding the same buses, and attending the same schools as Whites. Plessy refused to give up his seat to a White man on a train.

He was jailed.

The Fourteenth Amendment case, Plessy vs. Ferguson, was argued before the US Supreme Court in 1896. Perspectives interpreted the law. In an 8-1 vote, the Justices upheld Jim Crow.

The majority agreed that the amendment was meant to enforce equality, which they viewed as political equality, but not social. “If one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane.”

That perspective of “one race inferior” and separate but equal accommodations, governed well into the twentieth century.

The errant perspective of “intent of the law” employed to uphold separate but equal became the primary argument of the NAACP Legal Defense Team. Charles Hamilton Houston and Thurgood Marshall won a string of victories before the Supreme Court against Jim Crow laws.

They argued the intent of the law to defeat discrimination in institutions of higher education. The separate but equal and equal protection clauses were successfully argued in four cases before the Supreme Court from 1936 to 1950.

The string of victories sharpened the strategic genius of NAACP lead counsel, Thurgood Marshall. Marshall had five cases before the Supreme Court of the United States in 1952. Each challenged the constitutionality of state-sponsored segregation in public schools. The Supreme Court consolidated the five cases under Brown vs. Board of Education. Separate school systems for Blacks and Whites were inherently unequal, Marshall argued, and therefore violated the “equal protection clause” of the Fourteenth Amendment.

He also introduced sociological data from social scientist Kenneth Clark. The data showed that segregated school systems tended to make Black children feel inferior to White children.

The unanimous decision, delivered by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren on May 17, 1954, ruled that state-sanctioned segregation of public schools was a violation of the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution and was unconstitutional. Chief Justice Warren stated, “We conclude that in the field of public education the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.”

The decision changed the landscape of public education and gave the name of Thurgood Marshall a coveted place in history. We pause to celebrate his legacy of audacious genus; we pause to celebrate 70 years of the transformative Brown vs. Board of Education decision. But we can only pause. Reflection is needed amid setbacks trending in the toxic sociopolitical environment eroding social progress today.

In many ways, the sociopolitical environment is as toxic now as in the era that required the Brown vs. Board of Education fix.

These setbacks are trending: extremist rhetoric in the political arena; restrictive voter legislation; the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) gutting the 1965 Voting Rights Act; SCOTUS gutting Affirmative Action; state legislatures’ move to make Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) statues in education, government, and private industries that receive federal funds, illegal; and legislative moves to prohibit the sharing of accurate history in K-12 school curriculum because it makes some uncomfortable.

Setbacks But we are better prepared to stand our ground and push back against efforts to roll back progress. The legacy of Justice Thurgood Marshall resonates with this generation of leaders.

(Editor’s

ANNOUNCEMENTS Public Notice

JUNE 12-18, 2024

www.newpittsburghcourier.com

ANNOUNCEMENTS Public Notice

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. 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, JULY 1, 2024 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, JULY 2, 2024, BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 8:30AM AND 2:30PM IN THE ALLEGHENY COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE. Failure to pay the 10% deposit will have you banned from future Sheriff Sales. And the balance in CASH, CERTIFIED CHECK, OR CASHIERS CHECK, on or before MONDAY, JULY 8, 2024, 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 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 ALLDOCUMENTARY STAMPS FOR REAL ESTATE TRANSFER TAXES (STATE, LOCAL, AND SCHOOL) WILL BE DEDUCTED BY THE SHERIFF FROM THE PROCEEDS OF THE SALE. Purchasers must 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: NOTICE: The undersigned, as evidenced by the signature(s) to this notice and the acceptance and recording of this deed, (is/are) fully cognizant of the fact that the undersigned may not be obtaining the right of protection against subsidence, as to the property herein conveyed, resulting from coal mining operations and that the purchased property, herein conveyed, may be protected from damage due to mine subsidence by a private contract with the owners of the economic interest in the coal. This notice is inserted herein to comply with the Bituminous Mine Subsidence and Land Conservation Act of 1966. as amended 1980. Oct. 10, P.L 874, No. 156 §1.

“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.”

1JULY24 PLAINTIFF(S) Wilkinsburg School District and Wilkinsburg Borough vs DEFENDANT(S) THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF HELEN MCCLENNAN AKA HELEN MCCLELLAN, DECEASED

CASE NO.GD 21-014435 ************ DEBT $52,505.42 ************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Jennifer L. Cerce, Esquire ****************************** ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 424 S. 27th Street, Ste. 21O 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 SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 1486 MILL ST., PITTSBURGH, PA 15221. DEED BOOK 4079, PAGE 653. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 232-K-34.

2JULY24

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

CASE NO.GD 23-010678 DEBT $21,864.45 ************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Jennifer L. Cerce, Esquire ******************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 424 S. 27th Street, Ste. 21O 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 130 ORCHARD DR., PITTSBURGH, PA 15235. DEED BOOK 11887, PAGE 178. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 449-H-89.

Public Notice

3JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) PENNYWISE REALTY LLC, TAMLA IRWIN

CASE NO.GD-24-001551

************ DEBT $86,140.19

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

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

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S)

SUITE 5000, 701 MARKET STREET

PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (215) 627-1322

SHORT DESCRIPTION: IN THE COMMONWEAL TH OF PENNSYLVANIA, COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY, BOROUGH OF WEST MIFFLIN:

HAVIING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 6710 BUCHANAN AVENUE, WEST MIFFLIN, PA 15122. DEED BOOK 18962, PAGE I. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 243-R-163.

4JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) PAUL L. D’ALESSANDRO AKA PAUL LOUIS D’ALESSANDRO AKA PAUL L.

DALESSANDRO AKA PAUL DALESSANDRO AKA PAUL L. D’ADLESSANDRO ******************** CASE NO.MG-24-000006

************ DEBT $77,593.62

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

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 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 126 AUDBERT DRIVE, PITTSBURGH, PA 15236. DEED BOOK 10727, PAGE 595. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 315-G-96.

5JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) Sandy Swartz Morgan, solely in capacity as heir of Joanne L. Swartz a/k/a Joanne Swartz, Deceased, Allen Swartz, solely in capacity as heir of Joanne L. Swartz a/k/a Joanne Swartz, Deceased, Unknown Heirs, Successors, Assigns and All Persons, Firms or Associations Claiming Right. Title or Interest from or under Joanne L. Swartz a/k/a Joanne Swartz, Deceased ******************** CASE NO.MG-23-000947 ************ DEBT $44,989.56 ************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Powers Kirn, LLC ******************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) Eight Neshaminy lnterplex, Suite 215, Trevose, PA 19053

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 215-942-2090

SHORT DESCRIPTION:

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

Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 137 River View Blvd, Homestead, Pennsylvania 15120 a/k/a 137 Riverview Street, Homestead, Pennsylvania 15120. Deed Book Volume 6609, Page 520, Parcel 180-D-323.

6JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) Unknown Heirs, Successors, Assigns and All Persons, Firms or Associations Claiming Right, Title or Interest from or under David E. Lewis, Deceased ******************** CASE NO.MG-23-000617

DEBT $28,827.34

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Powers Kirn, LLC

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) Eight Neshaminy lnterplex, Suite 215, Trevose, PA 19053 ***********************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 215-942-2090 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Borough of Pitcairn:

Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 213 Highland Avenue, Pitcairn, Pennsylvania 15140. Deed Book Volume 11893, Page 525, Instrument No. 2003-44086, Block and Lot Number 747-8-70-1.

8JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) DAVID L. RICKERD III; NICOLE A. RICKERD ********************

CASE NO.MG-22-000132

DEBT $94,603.59

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Carolyn Treglia, Esquire

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) Brock & Scott, PLLC 2011 RENAISSANCE BOULEYARD, SUITE 100 KING OF PRUSSIA, PA 19406 ***********************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (844) 856-6646

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, 20TH WARD OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH

Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 3263 THAYER ST, PITTSBURGH, PA 15204. Deed Book Volume 16299, Page 124. Block and Lot Number 0071-S-002350000-00

5 9 0 1 4 1 0 3

9JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) Christine L. Burton ******************** CASE NO.MG-17-000051

DEBT $91,596.10

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Manley Deas Kochalski LLC

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) P. 0. Box 165028 Columbus, OH 43216-5028 ***********************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 614-220-5611 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Municipality of Penn Hills: Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 1069 Universal Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15235. Document Number 2003-31222, Deed Book Volume DE VL-11778, Page 373. Block and Lot Number 0539-G-00335-0000-1.

10JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) Janet L. Stanczak

CASE NO.MG-22-000164

DEBT $101,293.86

************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Manley Deas Kochalski LLC ******************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) P. 0. Box 165028 Columbus, OH 43216-5028

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 614-220-5611 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Borough of West Mifflin:

Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 150 Bost Drive, West Mifflin, PA 15122. Document Number 05173, Deed Book Volume 7716, Page 640. Block and Lot Number 03l 1-P-000880000-00.

11JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) Mavis E. Booker, AKA Mavis Booker ******************** CASE NO.MG-23-000529

************ DEBT $41,740.78

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Manley Deas Kochalski LLC

****************************** ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 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 Clairton: Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 354 Wylie Avenue, Clairton, PA 15025. Document Number 054807, Deed Book Volume 11602, Page 276. Block and Lot Number 0879-S00004-0000-00.

13JULY24

PLAINTIFF(S) WEST JEFFERSON HILLS SCHOOL DISTRICT vs DEFENDANT(S) JOHN LATINE & CINDY LATINE, Known Heirs of Salvador Latine a/k/a Salvadore Latine and Ruth Latine, Deceased

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

CASE NO.GD-14-020090

************ DEBT $25,083.66

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Elizabeth P. Sattler, Esquire

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

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 445 Fort Pitt Boulevard, Suite 503, Pittsburgh, PA 15219

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 412-391-0160

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, BOROUGH OF JEFFERSON HILLS: HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING, KNOWN AS 1157 STATE ROUTE 885, CLAIRTON, PA 15025. DEED BOOK 2987, PAGE 487. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 0659- H-00063.

14JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) UNKNOWN HEIRS, DEVISEES, AND/OR PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES OF AGNES E. JONES, DECEASED; MARCIA J. CROSS, SOLELY AS HEIR OF AGNES E. JONES, DECEASED

******************** CASE NO.GD-14-020090

CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS! 2

TELEPHONE NUMBER: 412-391-0160 ******************************************* SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, BOROUGH OF JEFFERSON HILLS: HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING, KNOWN AS 1157 STATE ROUTE 885,

15JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) SUSAN D. JANOCKO; CLIFFORD R.

16JULY24

18JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) UNKNOWN HEIRS, SUCCESSORS, ASSIGNS AND ALL PERSONS, FIRMS OR ASSOCIATIONS CLAIMING RIGHT, TITLE OR INTEREST FROM OR UNDER BARBARA A. THOMPKINS A/K/A BARBARA ANN THOMPKINS ******************** CASE NO.GD-23-010692

DEBT $108,728.36

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Robertson, Anschutz, Schneid, Crane & Partners, PLLC ******************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 133 GAITHER DRIVE, SUITE F MOUNT LAUREL, NJ 08054 ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 855-225-6906

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Borough of Coraopolis: Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 410 Kendall Street Coraopolis, PA 15108. Deed Book Volume 15700, Page 470. Block and Lot 0419-D-00252-0000-00.

19JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) ANSHU YEMALA; PRAVEEN KUMAR BURKANARAYANA ******************** CASE NO.GD-23-009773 DEBT $298,261.04

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Robertson, Anschutz,

EAST ALLEGHENY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND TOWNSHIP OF NORTH VERSAILLES VS. DEFENDANT(S) DAVID W. SMIRGA AND MICHELLE I. SMIRGA ******************** CASE NO.GD-23-009036

DEBT $59,695.60

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:

22JULY24 DEFENDANT(S) PATRICIA RADFORD, IN HER CAPACITY

AS HEIR OF NANCY L. MATTHEWS AKA

NANCY MATTHEWS AKA NANCY LOUISE

MATTHEWS, DECEASED; COREY MELIA, IN HIS CAPACITY AS BENEFICIARY OF THE TESTAMENTARY TRUST OF THE ESTATE OF NANCY L. MATTHEWS AKA NANCY MATTHEWS AKA NANCY LOUISE MATTHEWS, DECEASED; B.H., A MINOR, IN HIS CAPACITY AS DEVISEE OF THE ESTATE OF NANCY L. MATTHEWS AKA

NANCY MATTHEWS AKA NANCY LOU-

ISE MATTHEWS, DECEASED; K.H., A MINOR, IN HIS CAPACITY AS

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 42 CENTRAL AVENUE, NORTH VERSAILLES, PA 15137. DEED BOOK 8771, PAGE 282. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 546-E-345.

28JULY24

PLAINTIFF(S) EAST ALLEGHENY SCHOOL DISTRICT VS. DEFENDANT(S)

BURRELL LEON ALFORD, EILEEN ALFORD AND GERALD ALFORD, DECEASED, AS KNOWN HEIRS OF BURRELL LEE ALFORD AND LAURA ALFORD, DECEASED AND ALL UNKNOWN HEIRS OF GERALD ALFORD, BURRELL LEE ALFORD AND LAURA ALFORD, DECEASED ******************** CASE NO.GD-23-002980 ************ DEBT $33,219.70

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 3815 FOSTER ROAD, NORTH VERSAILLES, PA 15137. DEED BOOK 6368, PAGE 694. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 548-R-033. 29JULY24

PLAINTIFF(S) BRENTWOOD BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT and BRENTWOOD BOROUGH VS. DEFENDANT(S) MICHELLE MCCLORY ********************

CASE NO.GD 23-014267 DEBT $18,315.50 ************

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) JOHN T. VOGEL, TUCKER ARENSBERG, P.C. ******************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) TUCKER ARENSBERG, P.C., 1500 ONE PPG PLACE. PITTSBURGH, PA 15222

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 412.594.3902

SHORT DESCRIPTION: IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY, BOROUGH OF BRENTWOOD:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A RESI-

DENTIAL DWELLING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 3235 BOOKMAN AVENUE, PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA 15227, DEED BOOK VOLUME 15759, PAGE 292, BLOCK AND LOT 137-K-144

thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 548 Boquet Street, Carnegie, PA 15106. Deed Book Volume 13206, Page 547. Block and Lot Number 103-S-356. 24JULY24 PLAINTIFF(S) EAST ALLEGHENY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND TOWNSHIP OF NORTH VERSAILLES VS. DEFENDANT(S) CAROLE BUCZEK, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS SURVIVING SPOUSE OF RICHARD E. BUCZEK, DECEASED ******************** CASE NO.GD-22-013201 ************ DEBT $51,801.85 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

EAST ALLEGHENY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND TOWNSHIP OF NORTH VERSAILLES VS. DEFENDANT(S) GOLDEN ARK HOME FOR THE ELDERLY, INC., A PENNSYLVANIA CORPORATION AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

DEFENDANT(S) Lauren Shoup

30JULY24

CASE NO.GD-24-001623 ************ DEBT $139,043.96

************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Kristine M. Anthou ******************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) Grenen & Birsic, P.C. One Gateway Center, 9TH Floor, Pgh, PA 15222

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (412) 281-7650 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Township of North Fayette: HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 1601 TIMBER TRL, IMPERIAL, PA 15126. DBV 18355, PG 281, B/L #691-R-73.

31JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) MARSHA L.BRITT ********************

CASE NO.MG-23-000606 ************ DEBT $46,383.59

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Jeff Calcagno, Esquire

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) Brock & Scott, PLLC 2011 RENAISSANCE BOULEVARD, SUITE 100 KING OF PRUSSIA, PA 19406

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (844) 856-6646

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, 26TH WARD OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 122 W MCINTYRE AVENUE, PITTSBURGH, PA 15214. Deed Book Volume 10602, Page 236. Block and Lot Number 0046-F-001010000-00

32JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) TRAVIS G. HARKAL AKA TRAVIS G. HARAKAL ******************** CASE NO.MG-23-001061 ************ DEBT $178,874.29

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Jeff Calcagno, Esquire ****************************** ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S)

Brock & Scott, PLLC 2011 RENAISSANCE BOULEVARD, SUITE 100 KING OF PRUSSIA, PA 19406

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (844) 856-6646

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, SOUTH FAYETTE TOWNSHIP Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 319 RIDGE POINT CIR, BRIDGEVILLE, PA 15017. Deed Book Volume 18872, Page 344. Block and Lot Number 0572-B-000050000-00

33JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) KEITH D. O’KELLY; JAMELLA R. O’KELLY

CASE NO.MG-22-000400

************ DEBT $490,564.63

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

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Jeff Calcagno, Esquire ******************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) Brock & Scott, PLLC 2011 RENAISSANCE BOULEVARD, SUITE 100 KING OF PRUSSIA, PA 19406 ***********************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (844) 856-6646 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, BOROUGH OF BALDWIN Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 1236 CAMARTA DR, PITTSBURGH, PA 15227. Deed Book 17004, Page 152. Block and Lot Number 0093-B-000620000-00

34JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) LEAH M. LASSINGER; LUKE CLAWSON; MARGARET CLAWSON; UNKNOWN HEIRS, PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES, AND DEVISEES TO LOWRY CLAWSON, DECEASED

CASE NO.MG-19-001334

DEBT $147,768.41

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

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Carolyn Treglia, Esquire

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

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) Brock & Scott, PLLC 2011 RENAISSANCE BOULEVARD, SUITE 100 KING OF PRUSSIA, PA 19406

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

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (844) 856-6646 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, WEST DEER TOWNSHIP Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as803 LITTLE DEER CREEK VALLEY ROAD, RUSSELLTON, PA 15076. Deed Book Volume 17284, Page 496. Block and Lot Number 1361-H00257-0000-00

35JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) MINDFUL BUILDING CONCEPTS, LLC

CASE NO.GD-23-014279

************ DEBT $3,904,887.84

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

CHARLES N. SHURR, JR., ESQUIRE

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

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) KOZLOFF STOUDT 2640 WESTVIEW DRIVE WYOMISSING, PENNSYLVANIA 19610

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

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (610) 670-2552

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

SHORT DESCRIPTION:

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

Parcel 1:

Having erected thereon a two-unit townhome (incomplete) being known as 238240 Hidden Lane, Carnegie, Pennsylvania 15106. Deed Book Volume 18732, Page 519. Block & Lot No. 0102-D-00302-0000

Parcel 2:

Having erected thereon a two-unit townhome (incomplete) being known as 234236 Hidden Lane, Carnegie, Pennsylvania 15106. Deed Book Volume 18732, Page 519. Block & Lot No. 0102-D-00304-0000

Parcel 3: Having erected thereon a two-unit townhome (incomplete) being known as 230232 Hidden Lane, Carnegie, Pennsylvania 15106. Deed Book Volume 18732, Page 519. Block & Lot No. 0102-D-00306-0000

Parcel 4: Having erected thereon a two-unit townhome (incomplete) being known as 226228 Hidden Lane, Carnegie, Pennsylvania 15106. Deed Book Volume 18732, Page 519. Block & Lot No. 0102-D-00308-0000

Parcel 5:

Having erected thereon a two-unit townhome (incomplete) being known as 222224 Hidden Lane, Carnegie, Pennsylvania 15106 (a/k/a 826 Washington Avenue, Carnegie, Pennsylvania 15106). Deed Book Volume 18732, Page 519. Block & Lot No. 0102-D-00310-0000

36JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) Sade Swan, as Known Heir of the Estate of Mary F. Arrington; Unknown Heirs of the Estate of Mary F. Arrington (if any); Unknown Administrators of the Estate of Mary F. Arrington (if any) ******************** CASE NO.GD-23-010333

DEBT $35,661.94

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Manley Deas Kochalski LLC

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 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 Pittsburgh, Ward 10:

Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 1154 Woodbine Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15201. Document Number 152874, Deed Book Volume 9591, Page 560. Block and Lot Number 0081-G00250-0000-00.

37JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) Kyle E. Siverling; Nicole E. Siverling CASE NO.MG-23-000786

DEBT $76,641.59 ************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Manley Deas Kochalski LLC

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) P. 0. Box 165028 Columbus, OH 43216-5028 ***********************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 614-220-5611 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Borough of Swissvale:

Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 8108 Saint Lawrence Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15218. Document Number 2015-540, Deed Book Volume 15851, Page 94. Block and Lot Number 0234-J-00047-0000-00.

39JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) UNKNOWN HEIRS OF PAMELA J. BENNETT, DECEASED, LACEY J. BENNETT SOLELY IN THEIR CAPACITY AS HEIR OF PAMELA J. BENNETT, DECEASED, UNKNOWN HEIRS OF MICHAEL J. HORNER DECEASED CASE NO.MG-23-000414

************ DEBT $31,066.13

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

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 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 4100 GRIZELLA STREET, PITTSBURGH, PA 15214. DEED BOOK 10227, PAGE 528. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER162-S-298

40JULY24

PLAINTIFF(S) MCKEESPORT AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT AND CITY OF MCKEESPORT vs DEFENDANT(S) TERESA PLOSKINA ******************** CASE NO.GD-23-004831 DEBT $26,346.98

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, CITY OF MCKEESPORT: PARCEL ONE HAVING ERECTED THEREON A COMMERCIAL STRUCTURE BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 2634 5TH AVENUE, MCKEESPORT, PA 15132. DEED BOOK 12766, PAGE 185. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 379-S-399.

PARCEL TWO HAVING ERECTED THEREON A COM-

MERCIAL STRUCTURE BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 510 FAWCETT AVENUE, MCKEESPORT, PA 15132, BUT PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS 508 FAWCETT AVENUE, MCKEESPORT, PA 15132. DEED BOOK 12766, PAGE 179. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 460-N-289.

PARCEL THREE HAVING ERECTED THEREON A COMMERCIAL STRUCTURE BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 510 FAWCETT AVENUE, MCKEESPORT, PA 15132. DEED BOOK 12766, PAGE 179. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 460-N-288.

41JULY24

PLAINTIFF(S) Keystone Oaks School District vs DEFENDANT(S) Thomas M. Selepec ******************** CASE NO.GD 22-014376 ************ DEBT $15,948.53

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

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 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 Greentree:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 1068 GREENLAWN DRIVE, PITTSBURGH, PA 15220. DEED BOOK 16373, PAGE 134. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 36-A-138.

42JULY24

PLAINTIFF(S) Penn Hills School District and Municipality of Penn Hills vs DEFENDANT(S) Jeffrey J. Ruperto and Michele Ruperto ******************** CASE NO.GD 22-016169

DEBT $13,655.27

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Jennifer L. Cerce,

PA 15084. DBV 18929, PG 528, 8/L #1087-0-328. 44JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) CLARENCE L. AVERY III ******************** CASE NO.MG-22-000056 DEBT $83,936.49

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) KML LAW GROUP, P.C. ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) SUITE 5000, 701 MARKET STREET PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106 *********************************** ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (215) 627-1322 ******************************************* SHORT DESCRIPTION: IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY, 21ST WARD CITY OF PITTSBURGH: HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 1245 ISLAND AVENUE, PITTSBURGH, PA 15212. DEED BOOK 16137, PAGE 104. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 45-P-102

45JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) UNKNOWN HEIRS, SUCCESSORS, ASSIGNS, AND ALL PERSONS, FIRMS, OR ASSOCIATIONS CLAIMING RIGHT, TITLE, OR INTEREST FROM OR UNDER FRED R. SANDRIDGE

CASE NO.MG-23-000895

DEBT $26,308.47

************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Robertson, Anschutz, Schneid, Crane & Partners, PLLC

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 133 GAITHER DRIVE, SUITE F MOUNT LAUREL, NJ 08054 *********************************** ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 855-225-6906 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, 12th Ward of the City of Pittsburgh: Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 636

1-N-49

49JULY24 PLAINTIFF(S): County of Allegheny vs. DEFENDANT(S): Carolyn A. Fanto CASE NO.: GD 23-004145 ************ DEBT: $5,010.54 ************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

OF ATTORNEY(S) 525 William Penn Place, Ste. 3110 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (412) 281-0587 SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Township of O’Hara:

55JULY24 PLAINTIFF(S): County of Allegheny vs. DEFENDANT(S): Susan A. Roach

************ CASE NO.: GD 17-010697 ************ DEBT: $4,479.37

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Joseph W. Gramc, Esquire ******************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 525 William Penn Place, Ste. 3110 Pittsburgh, PA 15219

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (412) 281-0587

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, City of McKeesportWard 7:

Having erected thereon a two story brick house being known as 1515 Manor Avenue, McKeesport, PA 15132. Deed Book Volume 6791, Page 65. Block & Lot No. 382-C-274.

57JULY24 PLAINTIFF(S): County of Allegheny vs. DEFENDANT(S): Maya Restaurants Inc

************ CASE NO.: GD 23-005363 ************ DEBT: $9,007.94

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Joseph W. Gramc, Esquire ******************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 525 William Penn Place, Ste. 3110 Pittsburgh, PA 15219

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (412) 281-0587

SHORT DESCRIPTION: in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, City of McKeesportWard 12:

Parcel #1: Having erected thereon a two story commercial building known as 623 Long Run Road, McKeesport, PA 15132. Deed Book Volume 15627, Page 442. Block & Lot No. 554-E-225.

Parcel #2: Having erected thereon a two story commercial building known as 623 Long Run Road, McKeesport, PA 15132. Deed Book Volume 15627, Page 442. Block & Lot No. 554-E-233.

58JULY24

PLAINTIFF(S): County of Allegheny vs. DEFENDANT(S): Joanne C. Auretto

CASE NO.: GD 21-011567 ************ DEBT: $5,259.12

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 525 William Penn Place, Ste. 3110 Pittsburgh, PA 15219

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (412) 281-0587 SHORT

Joseph W. Gramc, Esquire

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

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S)

525 William Penn Place, Ste. 3110 Pittsburgh, PA 15219

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

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, City of McKeesportWard 7:

erected thereon a two story commercial building being known as 3212 Versailles Avenue, McKeesport, PA 15132. Deed Book Volume 17353, Page 254. Block & Lot 381-C-248.

************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Joseph W. Gramc, Esquire ******************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 525 William Penn Place, Ste. 3110 Pittsburgh, PA 15219

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (412) 281-0587

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Township of Elizabeth:

Having erected thereon a one story brick house known as 5915 Smithfield Street, McKeesport, PA 15135. Deed Book Volume 16307, Page 337. Block & Lot No. 653-G-266.

59JULY24

PETITIONER(S): County of Allegheny, City of Pittsburgh, and School District of Pittsburgh vs.

DEFENDANT(S): Unknown Heirs of Darryl Miller a/k/a Darryl A. Miller & The United States of America

CASE NO.: GD 23-013532

DEBT: $48,875.12 ************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Joseph W. Gramc, Esquire

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 525 William Penn Place, Ste. 3110 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 ***********************************

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

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, City of PittsburghWard 24:

Parcel #1: Being thereon vacant residential land known as Voskamp Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. Deed Book Volume 9407, Page 66. Block & Lot No. 24-G-76.

Parcel #2: Being thereon vacant residential land known as Voskamp Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. Deed Book Volume 9670, Page 80. Block & Lot No. 24-G-73.

60JULY24

PETITIONER(S): Woodland Hills School District vs.

DEFENDANT(S): Tradin’ Places, LLC, Bryce Peters Financial Corporation, Mukash Patel Corporation, Alfred Benchmark and Associates Corporation

************ CASE NO.: GD 23-013769 ************

DEBT: $39,046.59

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Joseph W. Gramc, Esquire

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 525 William Penn Place, Ste. 3110 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 ***********************************

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

SHORT DESCRIPTION:

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

DEFENDANT(S): ERIN SWEENEY

62JULY24

************ CASE NO.: MG-23-000764

************ DEBT: $62,460.43

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

LEON P. HALLER, ESQUIRE ******************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) PURCELL, KRUG AND HALLER 1719 NORTH FRONT STREET HARRISBURG, PA 17102

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 717-234-4178 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION:

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, 12th Ward of the City of McKeesport:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELL-

ING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 417 DIEHL DRIVE, McKEESPORT, PA 15132. DEED BOOK VOLUME 14723, PAGE 237. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 463-P-8.

63JULY24

DEFENDANT(S): Christopher M. Kramer

CASE NO.: GD-21-008869

DEBT: $80,143.70

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

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Roger Fay, Esquire

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

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 14000 Commerce Parkway, Suite H, Mount Laurel, NJ 08054

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (856) 724-1888 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, 18th Ward of the City of Pittsburgh:

Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 320 Millbridge Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15210. Deed Book Volume 13657 and Page 238, at Instrument Number 2008-18711. Block and Lot Number 00l 4-E-00264-0000-00.

64JULY24

DEFENDANT(S): Charles A.J. Halpin, III, Esquire, Personal Representative of the Estate of Emma F. Marshall a/k/a Emma Frances Cutright a/k/a Emma Frances Marshall, Deceased

************ CASE NO.: GD-24-001182

DEBT: $98,738.96

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) The Law Office of Gregory Javardian, LLC

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 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, Crescent Township:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A FRAME DWELLING HOUSE BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 1291-1293 MAPLE STREET, CRESCENT, PA 15046. DEED BOOK VOLUME 3553, PAGE 749. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER. 703-K-248.

65JULY24

DEFENDANT(S): Steven Brittner, solely in his capacity as known heir of Frank W. Brittner, III, deceased and The Unknown Heirs of Frank W. Brittner, III and The Unknown Heirs of Scott W. Brittner

************ CASE NO.: GD-23-009176

DEBT: $122,516.49

************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Stern & Eisenberg, PC

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 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 the Township of Reserve: Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 2719 Edison Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. Deed Book Volume 4185, PAGE 194. Block and Lot Number 078-M-076.

66JULY24

DEFENDANT(S): THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF BETH A. O’CONNOR, DECEASED ************ CASE NO.: MG-23-001089

DEBT: $55,205.86

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) LEON P. HALLER, ESQUIRE

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) PURCELL, KRUG AND HALLER 1719 NORTH FRONT STREET HARRISBURG, PA 17102

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 717-234-4178.

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, 9th Ward of the City of McKeesport: HAVINO ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 3422 STEELE STREET, MCKEESPORT, PA 15132. DEED BOOK VOLUME 18061, PAGE 576. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 381-L-112.

67JULY24

68JULY24

DEFENDANT(S): Julie Lou Mathias AKA Julie Mathias AKA Julie L. Mathias and Mark J. Defelice and Fremont J Mathias, Jr. AKA Freemont J Mathias, Jr. AKA Freemont Mathias, Jr.

CASE NO.: MG-22-001005

************ DEBT: $144,013.62

************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Stern & Eisenberg, PC

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

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 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 the Municipality of Monroeville, formerly the Borough of Monroeville:

Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 325 Noel Drive, Monroeville, PA 15146. Deed Book Volume 14413, Page 202. Block and Lot Number 976-H-020.

69JULY24

DEFENDANT(S): DEFENDANT S CHRISTINE M. PILYIH AKA CHRISTINE PILYIH AND SHAWN J. PILYIH AKA SHAWN PILYIH

CASE NO.: MG-22-000859 ************ DEBT: $79,164.27

************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) CHRISTINE L. GRAHAM, ESQUIRE ******************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) McCABE, WEISBERG & CONWAY, LLC 216 HADDON AVENUE, SUITE 201 WESTMONT, NJ 08108

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

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (215) 790-1010 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Township of Reserve:

Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 349 Kohlman Drive, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15214. Deed Book Volume 11472, Page 004. Block and Lot Number 0117-J-000050000-00.

70JULY24

DEFENDANT(S): Glenn J. Myers CASE NO.: GD-23-007483

DEBT: $146,274.02

************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) EMMANUEL J. ARGENTIERI ******************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 52 NEWTON AVENUE, P.O. BOX 456, WOODBURY, NJ 08096

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (856) 384-1515 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Township of Wilkins: Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 602 Brown Avenue, Turtle Creek, PA 15145. Deed Book Volume 10533, Page 352. Block and Lot Number 373-D-214.

71JULY24

DEFENDANT(S): JANICE Q. RUSSELL AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CASE NO.: MG-19-000471

************ DEBT: $523,534.06

************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) EMMANUEL J. ARGENTIERI ******************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 52 NEWTON AVENUE, P.O. BOX 456, WOODBURY, NJ 08096

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (856) 384-1515

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Town of McCandless: Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 10476 Olde Villa Drive, Gibsonia, PA 15044. Deed Book Volume 13976, Page 467. Block and Lot Number 1209-A-9.

72JULY24

PLAINTIFF(S) Wilkinsburg School District and Wilkinsburg Borough Vs. DEFENDANT(S): DAVID L. FIELDS CASE NO.: GD 22-004147

************ DEBT: $13,023.04

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

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 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 SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 1627 MILL ST., PITTSBURGH, PA 15221. DEED BOOK 11440, PAGE 119. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 232-E-180.

73JULY24

74JULY24

DEFENDANT(S): STEVEN SIEMON AKA STEVEN E. SIEMON ************ CASE NO.: MG-23-000703

AVENUE, SUITE201 WESTMONT, NJ 08108

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (215) 790-1010 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Jefferson Hills Borough: Having

75JULY24

DEFENDANT(S):

$4,450.88

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Joseph W. Gramc, Esquire ****************************** ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 525 William Penn Place, Ste. 3110 Pittsburgh, PA 15219

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (412) 281-0587

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Township of North Versailles:

Having erected thereon a one story commercial garage being known as 100 Berardi Court, North Versailles, PA 15137. Deed Book Volume 12781, Page 339. Block & Lot No. 548-D-234.

Having erected thereon a two story brick house known as 7311 Florence Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15218. Deed Book Volume 15675, Page 416. Block & Lot No. 178-G37.

61JULY24

DEFENDANT(S): MICHAEL L. HAMPTON CASE NO.: MG-22-000140

DEBT: $108,917.42

************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) LEON P. HALLER, ESQUIRE ******************************

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S)

PURCELL, KRUG AND HALLER 1719 NORTH FRONT STREET HARRISBURG, PA 17102 ***********************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 717-234-4178 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION:

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

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 337 IDLEWOOD ROAD, PITTSBURGH, PA 15235. DEED BOOK VOLUME 17125, PAGE 512. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 539-B-254.

DEFENDANT(S): Victoria Hanna CASE NO.: MG-23-001134

************ DEBT: $58,558.45

************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Stem & Eisenberg, PC

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

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 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 the 19th Ward of the City of Pittsburgh: Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 1320 Methyl St, Pittsburgh, PA 15216. Deed Book Volume 11024, PAGE 221. Block and Lot Number O16-P-178.

DEFENDANT(S): Lys Deslouches ************ CASE NO.: GD-23-011422 ************ DEBT: $277,915.79

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) EMMANUEL J. ARGENTIERI

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 52 NEWTON AVENUE, P.O. BOX456, WOODBURY, NJ 08096 ***********************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (856) 384-1515 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, 27th Ward of the City of Pittsburgh: Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 3537 California Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. Deed Book Volume 18445, Page 327. Block and Lot Number 075-F-007.

Deed Book Volume 10492, Page 52. Block and Lot 0041-R00074-0000-00.

77JULY24

DEFENDANT(S): CALPENN VENTURES LLC ************ CASE NO.: GD-23-009920 ************ DEBT: $93,754.33

SR

OF ATTORNEY(S)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,

Borough of

of

thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 734 California Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15202. Deed Book Volume 7625, Page 201. Block and Lot 0159D-00041-0000-00.

80JULY24

DEFENDANT(S): PATRICK M. NORRIS

************ CASE NO.: MG-23-000370 DEBT: $25,545.08 ************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Robertson, Anschutz, Schneid, Crane & Partners, PLLC

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 133 GAITHER DRIVE, SUITE F MOUNT LAUREL, NJ 08054 *********************************** ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER:

855-225-6906

SHORT DESCRIPTION:

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Township of Neville: Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 114 1st Street Pittsburgh, PA 15225. Deed Book Volume 12943, Page 534. Block and Lot 0211-F00008-0000-00.

81JULY24

DEFENDANT(S): Domenico Lopreiato and Tarrah L. Lopreato n/k/a Tarrah Jackson

************ CASE NO.: MG-22-000575 ************ DEBT: $165,958.72

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Perry Russell, Esq

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 1325 Franklin Avenue, Suite 160, Garden City, NY 11530 ***********************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (212) 471-5100

SHORT DESCRIPTION:

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, and Township of Harrison: HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 1300 UNION AVENUE, NATRONA HEIGHTS, PA 15065. DEED BOOK VOLUME 17207, PAGE 370. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 1367-H-00265-0000-00.

82JULY24

DEFENDANT(S):RICHARD T. BOSCIA, SR. AND CAROL J. BOSCIA

************ CASE NO.: MG-23-000074 ************ DEBT: $154,459.83

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

CHELSEA A. NIXON, ESQUIRE

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) McCABE, WEISBERG & CONWAY, LLC 216 HADDON AVENUE, SUITE 201 WESTMONT, NJ 08108

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: (215) 790-1010

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Borough of Etna: Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 116 Grant Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15223. Deed Book Volume 8036, Page 517. Block and Lot Number 0221-H- OO132-0000-00.

83JULY24

DEFENDANT(S):Lisa Darrah

CASE NO.: MG-23-000671

DEBT: $188,748.41

************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) James R. Norris, Esq. Norris Legal Services Attorney for Plaintiff

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 4098 Gibsonia Road, Box 89, Gibsonia, PA 15044 ***********************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 412-694-2634 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION: IN THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA, COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY, TOWNSHIP OF WEST DEER

HAVING AGRICULTURAL LAND KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 71 NORRIS LANE

PENNSYLVANIA, 15084 IN

BOOK VOLUME 11408, PAGE 10, (BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 2013-D-349).

KATHLEEN M. PLUMMER CASE NO.: GD-19-016050

DEBT: $28,620.70 ************ NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) KML LAW GROUP, P.C.

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) SUITE 5000, 701 MARKET STREET PHILADELPHIA, PA 19106

OF PENNSYL-

OF ALLEGHENY, 17TH

85JULY24

PLAINTIFF(S): MCKEESPORT AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT AND CITY OF MCKEESPORT vs DEFENDANT(S): SUSAN A. HIMICH, INDIVIDUALLY AND AS REMAINING JOINT TENANT OF DAVID J. HIMICH, DECEASED ************ CASE NO.: GD-23-005184

DEBT: $10,494.01

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, CITY OF MCK-

EESPORT:

HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 2901 LAFAYETTE STREET, MCKEESPORT, PA 15132. DEED BOOK 11947, PAGE 437. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 464-G-305.

86JULY24

PLAINTIFF(S) EAST ALLEGHENY SCHOOL DISTRICT AND TOWNSHIP OF NORTH VERSAILLES

vs DEFENDANT(S): CLINTON J. GURA AND JAYME R. GURA ************ CASE NO.: GD-23-012408 ************ DEBT: $ 48,499.53

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 516 ARLINGTON AVENUE, NORTH VERSAILLES, PA 15137. DEED BOOK 5801, PAGE 439. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 459-D-310.

87JULY24

PLAINTIFF(S) BOROUGH OF SWISSVALE vs DEFENDANT(S): RICHARD GOLDMAN AND KIMBERLY A. GOLDMAN ************ CASE NO.: GD-19-002746 ************ DEBT: $7,632.16

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, BOROUGH OF SWISSVALE: HAVING ERECTED THEREON A DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 7314 CHURCH STREET, PITTSBURGH, PA 15218. DEED BOOK 12415, PAGE 586. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 178-8-257.

88JULY24

PLAINTIFF(S) MOON AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT vs DEFENDANT(S): UNKNOWN HEIRS OF REBECCA MCCARTNEY & UNKNOWN HEIRS OF HARRIET MCCARTNEY ************ CASE NO.: GD-23-009630 DEBT: $12,942.09

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Elizabeth P. Sattler, Esquire

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 445 Fort Pitt Boulevard, Suite 503, Pittsburgh, PA 152 ***********************************

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 412-391-0160 *******************************************

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, TOWNSHIP OF MOON: BEING VACANT LAND, KNOWN AS JACKSON ROAD, CORAOPOLIS, PA 15108. BOOK 251, VOLUME 13, PAGE 459. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 925-K100

89JULY24

PLAINTIFF(S) Wilkinsburg School District and Wilkinsburg Borough vs DEFENDANT(S): KEVIN A KING ************ CASE NO.: GD 23-012743 ************ DEBT: $20,112.57

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

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) 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: (PARCEL ONE) HAVING ERECTED

THEREON A SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING

BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 1365 LAKETON ROAD, PITTSBURGH, PA 15221. DEED BOOK 11586, PAGE 355. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 232-L-117 AND (PARCEL TWO) HAVING ERECTED THEREON A ROWHOUSE DWELLING BEING KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS 324 WEST STREET, PITTSBURGH, PA 15221. DEED BOOK 11905. PAGE 254. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 176-G-76

90JULY24

PLAINTIFF(S): Penn Hills School District and Municipality of Penn Hills

vs

DEFENDANT(S): William E. Wright and Ronnika J. Wright

************ CASE NO.: GD 22-010052

************ DEBT: $18,338.39

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S)

Jennifer L. Cerce, Esquire

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

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S)

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 154 ROSEWOOD DRIVE, PITTSBURGH, PA 15235. DEED BOOK 17791, PAGE 498. BLOCK AND LOT NUMBER 370-0-333.

91JULY24

DEFENDANT(S): Sheryl D. McBride

CASE NO.: MG-23-001066

************ DEBT: $90,199.05

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

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Manley Deas Kochalski LLC

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

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S)

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

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 614-220-5611

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Frazer Township:

PARCEL NO. 1:

Having erected thereon a dwelling being known and numbered as 135 Miller Drive, Tarentum, PA 15084. Deed Book Volume 10763, Page 33, Block and Lot# 1674-F00119-0000-00.

PARCEL NO. 2: Vacant Land being known as Miller Drive, Tarentum, PA 15084. Deed Book Volume 10763, Page 33, Block and Lot# 1674-F00109-0000-00.

92JULY24

DEFENDANT(S): Jeremy Berty and Linda Berty

************ CASE NO.: GD-24-003021

************ DEBT: $178,796.26

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) Gary W. Darr, Esquire McGrath McCall, P.C.

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

ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) Four Gateway Center, Suite 1340, 444 Liberty Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15222

ATTORNEY TELEPHONE NUMBER: 412 281-4333

SHORT DESCRIPTION:

In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, Township of South Fayette: HAVING ERECTED THEREON A SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLING KNOWN AS 4132 BATTLE RIDGE ROAD, McDONALD, PA 15057, DEED BOOK VOLUME 16335, PAGE 43, BLOCK & LOT NO. 402-D-6.

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS

Urban Design/Planning - Regional historic preservation and economic development organization requests Qualifications relative to any or all of the following: 1) site and building assessments at a neighborhood level, 2) infrastructure assessments and public space improvements, 3) market analysis, 4) site reuse vision, 5) revitalization plans, 6) individuals available for assignment, 7) working with multiple stakeholders and the public and building consensus, 8) minority and women-owned businesses participation, and 9) Method and/or rates of compensation. Within thirty days of publication of this notice, firms/individuals should send Qualifications as outlined above to: Young Preservationists Association, 700 River Avenue, Suite 318, Pittsburgh, PA 15212.

LEGAL ADVERTISING

Fictitious Name

FICTITIOUS NAME REGISTRATION

Notice is hereby given pursuant to the provisions of the Fictitious Names Act of Pennsylvania that an application for registration of a fictitious name was filed with the Department of State of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the conduct of a business under the fictitious name of Vintage Asylum with its principal office or place of business at 650 Cliff Mine Road, Unit 1, Coraopolis, PA 15108. The name and address of the person who is party to the registration is Michael Wojtalik– 650 Cliff Mine Rd., Unit 1, Coraopolis, PA 15108

The name of the fictitious name is: Vintage Asylum

LEGAL ADVERTISING Legal Notices

Estate of EILEEN B. LIVINGSTON, Deceased of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, No. 02-24-03497 , Robert J. Surdoval, Executor, 4948 Middletown Road East, New Middletown, OH 44442 or to ROBIN L. RARIE, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC., 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017

Estate of ROBIN GARY-WHITE (deceased), of Verona, PA, No. 01275 of 2024. Lisa Augustin, 7134 Meade Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15208, Co-Exec. Marlene Gary-Hogan, 307 Richey Drive, Verona, PA 15147, Co-Exec. or to Sheila M. Ford, Esq,. 6419 Stanton Avenue, Pittsburgh,PA 15206

LEGAL

Estate of SABLE, JACK, L, Deceased of Pittsburgh, Estate No. 02995 of 2024, JACK D. SABLE, 116 PINEVIEW RD., BADEN PA, 1005 AND JEFFREY B. SABLE, 307 OVERBROOK RD, VALENCIA, PA 16059 AND JAY C. SABLE, 240 DOGWOOD CR, W COLUMBIA, SC 29170, Co-Exec, or to MICHAEL J. SALDAMARCO, ESQ., STE. 100, 908 PERRY HWY., PITTSBURGH, PA 15229

Estate of HUFF, RICHARD, F, Deceased of Pittsburgh, Estate No. 03215 of 2024, Lori Larkin, 2704 College Park RD, Allison Park, PA 15101, Exec, or to MICHAEL J. SALDAMARCO, ESQ., STE. 100, 908 PERRY HWY., PITTSBURGH, PA 15229

TRUST TERMINATION:

Advertising Trust Termination due to the death of ESTHER H. DUGONI on 01/05/2024.

Claims against said Trust may be filed as follows and sent to: PNC Bank, National Association Attn: Sharon L Whitney 300 Fifth Ave, 31st Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222 And/or: Linda Rhone Enion, Esq. Fox Rothschild LLP BNY Mellon Center 500 Grant Street, Suite 2500 Pittsburgh, PA 15219-2510

ANNOUNCEMENTS Meetings

Meetings

JUNE HACP BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING

The next regular HACP Board of Commissioners Meeting will take place on Thursday, June 27, 2024 at 10:30 a.m. EST. This will be a hybrid meeting (with limited in-person seating (on a first come, first serve basis) and a remote Zoom viewing option). The meeting agenda will be posted to the HACP website: www.hacp. org on Monday, June 24, 2024. Registration to attend the meeting in-person and registration to provide public comment will both open on Monday, June 24, 2024 at 11 a.m. and posted to www.hacp.org.

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

BOROUGH OF THORNBURG - NOTICE

The Council of the Borough of Thornburg will hold a public meeting to consider adopting an ordinance to amend the requirements regarding sanitary sewer lateral televising and CCTV video submission following the relining of a sanitary sewer lateral prior to the sale of property, said meeting to be held on July 1, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. at the Borough Building, 545 Hamilton Road, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The title and summary of the proposed Ordinance are as follows:

TITLE

AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOROUGH OF THORNBURG AMENDING THE BOROUGH CODE OF ORDINANCES, CHAPTER 18, SEWERS AND SEWAGE DISPOSAL, PART 5, SANITARY SEWER TESTING PRIOR TO SALE OF PROPERTY, SECTION 18-514, TO REMOVE THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE TELEVISING AND SUBMISSION OF CCTV VIDEO TO THE BOROUGH FOLLOWING THE RELINING OF A SEWER LATERAL

SUMMARY

The proposed ordinance removes the requirement that sewer lateral liners be televised after relining and that a copy of the CCTV video be provided to the Borough, following the relining of a sewer lateral in connection with a sanitary sewer lateral test occurring prior to the sale of property. A copy of the proposed Ordinance may be examined in the office of the Borough Secretary, without charge, during regular business hours.

BOROUGH OF THORNBURG

Kristina Szmul, Secretary

NOTICE OF SCHEDULED QUARTERLY MEETING (PURSUANT TO THE ACT OF JULY 19, 1994, P.L. #386, 65 P.S. 261) THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH-EQUIPMENT LEASING AUTHORITY BOARD MEETING SHALL BE HELD ON:

THURSDAY, JULY 11TH, 2024 AT 2:00 P.M. CITY COUNTY BUILDING, ROOM 646 (THE LEARNING LAB) PITTSBURGH, PA 15219

THIS MEETING IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC TO PARTICIPATE IN PERSON OR VIA CONFERENCE CALL AT THE FOLLOWING NUMBER: CALL-IN NUMBER: 1-412-851-3584 GUEST PASSCODE: 202 409 159#

NOTICE

On June 27, 2024, at 6:00 p.m., in Council Chambers, 537 Bayne Ave., Bellevue, PA, Bellevue Borough’s Zoning Hearing Board shall hold a Public Hearing re: Application of Smith, seeking Special Exception approval, per Tri-Borough Zoning Ord. §2000-405 & Ord. No. 18-05, to use the property at 238 Lincoln Ave. as a Short-term Rental unit. The Application may be viewed during normal business hours at the Borough Offices.

Thomas P. McDermott, Solicitor Bellevue Borough ZHB

LEGAL ADVERTISING Bids/Proposals

LEGAL ADVERTISING Bids/Proposals

Riverlife is soliciting bids for Allegheny Riverfront Park Upper Level Restoration. Bid documents are available through Accu-Copy Reprographics (724-935-7055) at their offices or through their online plan room (https://planroom.accu-copy. com/public.php). A mandatory Pre-Bid Meeting will be held June 28, 2024 at 10AM, on the project site. Sealed bids due by Friday, July 12, 2024 at noon. Prevailing wages are required on this RACP-funded Project.

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 July 10, 2024, 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:

A pre-bid conference will be held at 1:00 p.m., on June 18, 2024 , in Conference Room C at Pittsburgh International Airport Landside Terminal, 4th Floor Mezz, Pittsburgh, PA 15231. 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 412-472-2136 ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY

(GENERAL)

ROUTE 885 TUNNEL IMPROVEMENTS SR 0885 AND UNION RAILROAD TUNNEL REPAIR PROJECT AT ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT

A pre-bid conference will be held at 11:00 a.m., on June 20, 2024 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 or Davis Bacon, 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 412-472-2136.

ALLEGHENY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY

COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY PITTSBURGH, PA

JUNE 4, 2024

The Office of the Director of the Department of Public works for Allegheny County in Conjunction with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, is soliciting Statements of Interest through PennDOTs ECMS system for the following:

ALLEGHENY COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS

Project Management For

Federally Funded Bridge and Roadway Projects County Project No. AA00-2025 Local Agreement Number: L00855

This is a federal-aid agreement with PennDOT oversight. Statements of Interest are due no later than June 28, 2024 and are to be submitted through PennDOTs ECMS System, https://www.ecms.penndot.pa.gov. The advertisement can be found under agreement number L00855. A copy of the published advertisement can also be found on the County Website: https://www.alleghenycounty.us/projects-and-initiatives/ bids-and-solicitations/public-works-bids-and-proposals. Any inquiries into this Advertisement are to be directed to Mr. Jason Molinero, P.E., Deputy Director, at 412-350-5469 or Jason.Molinero@AlleghenyCounty.us

The County will use the normal selection process and preselect or short-list at least three firms for consideration for this Project assignment on the following evaluation criteria: Performance on Past Projects, Ability to Review Designs, Ability to Prioritize Tasks and Meet Deadlines, Work Experience on PennDOT and County Projects, Use and Experience of Subconsultants, and Inclusion of a Sustainability Profile in Accordance with County Ordinance 04-23-OR. The County’s Minority and Women disadvantaged goals for this Project will be 13% of the total price for MBE participation and 2% of the total price for WBE participation.

Stephen G. Shanley, PE, Director Department of Public Works of Allegheny County

ALLEGHENY COUNTY SANITARY AUTHORITY LEGAL NOTICE CONTRACT NO. 1806

FURNISH & DELIVER SULFURIC ACID

Sealed Bids for CONTRACT NO. 1806–FURNISH & DELIVER SULFURIC ACID 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, Tuesday, July 16, 2024, and then shall be publicly opened and read.

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. Documents pertaining to the submission of Bids are available at the Engineering office of the Authority, 3300 Preble Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15233. Bid Security shall be furnished by providing with the Bid a Certified Check or Bid Bond in the amount of $1,000.00. The Successful Bidder shall be required to furnish a Performance Bond in the amount of $20,000.00. Contract documents must be obtained directly from ALCOSAN to qualify as an eligible bidder.

Any questions regarding the Technical Specifications should be directed to Benjamin J. Heilman, Contract Supervisor, ALCOSAN, via email at benjamin.heilman@alcosan.org

Any questions regarding obtaining the Contract Bidding Documents should be directed to Kathleen P. Uniatowski, 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

Benjamin J. Heilman Contract Supervisor

BOROUGH OF BRENTWOOD REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS RFP 2024-01

ARCHITECTURAL/ENGINEERING DESIGN SERVICES FOR THE BRENTWOOD (THE HOLLOW) WALKING TRAIL BRENTWOOD, PENNSYLVANIA

The Borough of Brentwood, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, is inviting firms to submit a proposal for a one-time contract to perform certain professional services (consulting) work for the Borough of Bren twood involving the preparation of conceptual and eventually final architectural/ engineering design documents associated the development of the Brentwood (The Hollow) Walking Trail. One firm will be selected to provide design architectural/engineering services for the project. Information relating to submitting a proposal including specific requirements, the organization of the proposal, proposal evaluation criteria, and the proposed contractual agreement can be found at PennBid (https://pennbid.procureware.com). Interested parties must complete a no costregistration process to utilize this service. Paper copies these documents will not be made available.

A MANDATORY PRE-SUBMITTAL Meeting will be held on June 20th, 2024 at 2:00 PM.

All Proposals must be submitted electronically on Pennbid.com before 2:00 P.M., prevailing time on July 3, 2024.

The Proposals must be made to the Brentwood Borough, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and shall remain firm for a period of sixty (60) days. Questions regarding this project shall only be accepted electronically via the ‘Clarifications’ section on pennbid.procureware.com. 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,

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE COUNTY OF BEAVER

BEAVER, PENNSYLVANIA INVITATION TO BID

The HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE COUNTY OF BEAVER will receive sealed bids, in duplicate, until 1:00 PM (local time) on Thursday, June 27, 2024 at the office of the Housing Authority of the County of Beaver, James F. Tress Administration Building, 300 State Street (Vanport), Beaver, Pennsylvania at which time and place all bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at 1:30 PM for Exterior Renovations at Allaire Homes, Monaca, Pennsylvania

A fifteen percent (15%) bid bond is required for this project. Proposed forms of contract documents, including Plans and Specifications are being distributed, with twentyfour-hour notice of pick-up, by Ditto (www.dittoplanroom.com), 1020 Ridge Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15233, phone (412) 231-7700. All bidders are REQUIRED to buy the full set of plans and specifications. Contact Ditto for cost of plans and specifications. No Documents will be distributed until payment in full plus tax and shipping (non-refundable) payable to and received by Ditto. Free examination of said documents is available at the office of Canzian/ Johnston & Associates LLC and Pennsylvania Builders Exchange. Plans and specifications will be available on Thursday, June 6, 2024. EQUALEMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY and Section 3 Compliance are required.

A MANDATORY Pre-Bid Conference will be held at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, June 18, 2024 at A.C. Edgecombe Apartments, 1150 Bechtel Street, Monaca, PA 15061 Community Room.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES Help Wanted

Multi IT Related Positions w/ National Placement out of Allegheny County, PA. Must be able to relo to multi unanticipated sites when req’d. All deg &/or exp must be in either Comps, Info Sys, Eng’g, Mgmt, Bus or IT rel’d field. Any suitable combo of edu, training or exp is acceptable. See below for req’d skills for each job:

Jr Software Developers: Salary $89,565/yr. Reqs Bach’s & 6 months of Exp only.

(HADOOP): Must have skills in Hadoop; Hive; Spark & HDFS. Ref# JHAD– 1123-GLX;

(.NET): Must have skills in either .NET; VB.NET or ASP.NET. Ref# JNET– 1123-GLX;

(WORKDAY): Must have skills in Workday; Workday Studio; XML; XSLT; SQL; EIB & Core Connectors. Ref# JWKD–1123-GLX;

(SAP): Must have skills in either BASIS, HANA, ECC, CRM & PI or PO. Ref# JSAP–1123-GLX; (COBOL MAINFRAME): Must have skills in Cobol, JCL, VSAM, DB2. Ref# JCMF–1123-GLX

(JAVA): Must have skills in Java; J2EE; Oracle; XML & PL/SQL. Ref# JJAV–1123-GLX; Salary $108,077/yr.

Software Developers: Salary $126,610/yr. Reqs Bach’s & 5yrs of Exp OR MS & 1yr of Exp.

(HADOOP): Must have skills in Hadoop; Hive; Spark & HDFS. Ref# HAD– 1123-GLX

(.NET): Must have skills in either .NET; VB.NET or ASP.NET. Ref# NET– 1123-GLX

(JAVA): Must have skills in Java; J2EE; Oracle; XML & PL/SQL. Ref# JAV–1123-GLX

(WORKDAY): Must have skills in Workday; Workday Studio; XML; XSLT; SQL; EIB & Core Connectors. Ref# WKD–1123-GLX

(SAP): Must have skills in either BASIS, HANA, ECC, CRM and PI or PO. Ref# SAP–1123-GLX

(COBOL MAINFRAME): Must have skills in Cobol, JCL, VSAM, DB2. Ref# CMF–1123-GLX

All positions are FT, Please ref (Ref#) when applying for job & send resume to HR, Galax-Esystems Corp, One Oxford Centre, 301 Grant St, Ste 270, Pittsburgh, PA 15219 or E-mail hr@galaxesystems.com Galax-Esystems Corp is an EOE M/F/V/D.

American Eagle Outfitters’ Pittsburgh, PA, office seeks a Quality Engineer II. This is a hybrid office-based/ work-from-home position that will be responsible for executing and fixing scripts in Automation suite on the in-house BDD framework model. Must be able and willing to travel domestically to various unanticipated employer and client locations to provide technical support up to 10%. Apply at https://aeo.jobs, with cover letter, resumé and salary requirements.

Gecko Robotics, Inc. seeks Robotics Autonomy Engineer in Pittsburgh, PA (this is an in-office position) to be responsible for dvlping state estimation, mapping, & assistive autonomy sys. Apply at: https://www.geckorobotics. com/careers

K-5 Spanish Teacher Urban Academy Greater Pittsburgh Charter School Send resume and three clearances to: jobs@urbanacademypgh.org

FULL TIME CAREERS AT VENTURE OUTDOORS

Join the team at one of Pittsburgh Business Times’ Best Places to Work! Two full-time roles are currently open with the Venture Outdoors Youth Department: a Director of Youth Education role and a Fishing Program Manager role. Full-time, $50K-$60K annually plus benefits. Read more and submit your resume by June 21 at ventureoutdoors. org/about/employmentopportunities/.

CLASSIFIEDS

When it comes to race, Pittsburgh is what it is

Recently, I was “mind-surfing” on my “surf-bored” and decided to “hang ten” on a few topics.

One of the questions that provided a huge wave for me to ride was the question as to why there’s always a negative response when a Black quarterback is selected to compete for a spot on the roster of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now let’s consider the political equivalent of that issue. Why did it take until November 2021 for Pittsburgh to elect Ed Gainey as its first African American mayor? As many real estate professionals will tell you, it’s all about location, location, and finally, location.

Let’s take a look at the racial makeups of the cities and teams that compete in the NFL’s AFC North Division: the Cleveland Browns, the Baltimore Ravens, the Cincinnati Bengals, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Take a look and determine for yourself what role, if any, that racial composition plays in determining whether a Black quarterback is met with open arms or a brick

wall when chosen to play for one of the franchise cities in the AFC North Division. Let’s begin with Cleveland. The United States Census Bureau’s 2020 census reported the following population data. The percentage of African Americans residing in Cleveland is roughly 47.45 percent and the percentage of the White population living there was 32.08 percent. So, is it farfetched to assume that putting aside issues from the private life and maybe the injuries of Cleveland QB Deshaun Watson, an African American athlete that many of the Cleveland fans whose skin may contain a bit more melanin, don’t have as many issues with a Black QB as other segments of the population? Oh, and Cleveland elected its first Black Mayor Carl Stokes on November 7, 1967. Pittsburgh did not elect its first Black Mayor Ed Gainey until November 2021, 57 years after Mayor Stokes took office. Baltimore’s racial composition is: 29.23 percent White, and 61.61 percent are Black or African Amer-

ican. So, it was no big deal when the Ravens drafted QB Lamar Jackson in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The Steelers may draft a running back, fullback, or pocket-back

in the first round but a few of the “yinzers” would go stark raving crazy and would send management to hell packing a handbasket, if they even dared to consider drafting a Black quarterback in the first round. Now hear this... Kurt Lidell Schmoke was elected the 47th Mayor of Baltimore, and served from 1987 to 1999, and was the first African American to be elected to the post. Baltimore beat Pittsburgh by electing a Black mayor 37 years before Pittsburgh had the confidence to put a Black man in the first chair and Baltimore

is even located below the Mason-Dixon line!

Even Cincinnati, which literally touches the state of Kentucky, directly elected a Black mayor, Mark Mallory, before Pittsburgh. Mallory served from 20052013. Cincinnati’s racial population makeup is 50.60 percent White, and 40.29 percent Black or African American.

As for our great city of Pittsburgh, our racial makeup is 65.42 percent White and 22.89 percernt Black.

So why should anyone be surprised when there is generational opposition and negative fallout when a Black athlete, coach, or corporate head receives prominence, more recognition, and more money than their White counterparts? In Pittsburgh, the sports culture may have to “emancipate” itself or the Steel City must experience a significant explosion in the African American population for the participation of Blacks in prominent figures in sports roles and other areas of society in the region to grow and flourish. My final point is,

don’t expect to read many positive reviews on the Internet, in the newspapers or hear many free-flowing accolades for them originating from the local television or radio airwaves.

Just recently, Steelers’ icon Pro Bowl defensive lineman Cam Heyward called local reporter Gerry Dulac to task for inaccurate reporting on Heyward’s contract dispute. “Just cuz I don’t answer your text, doesn’t mean I don’t communicate with the team.

You will not slander my name,” Heyward said.

I am going to get a bit nostalgic now. In 1987, Bruce Hornsby and The Range won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

The song that propelled them into the spotlight was: “That’s Just The Way It Is, Some Things Never Change.” In the past, I have often wondered what motivated Mr. Hornsby to compose such a powerful musical and social commentary. The following is an excerpt from songfacts. com that includes a quote from Bruce Hornsby himself. “Hornsby grew up in Virginia, which isn’t

where you would expect a song about racial and economic tolerance to originate.” He added, “When I was brought up, the vibe I got of Martin Luther King in my town was that he was a real evil man—just the vibe in the air, that he was terrible. And if you grow up in that environment you can’t help but be affected by it a little bit. Luckily, I came from a family that guarded us against that conservatism, but sure, I grew up in the thick of all that bad feeling.”

Unfortunately, many folks weren’t protected from believing, applying, and promoting negative stereotypes when it came to people of color, period. For decades the anti-Black propaganda machine has been fueled by the lie that Black quarterbacks may be physically gifted, but their intellect was and is far below that of White quarterbacks. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was evil? Black QBs lack intelligence? I hate to tell you this, but even in 2024, that’s just the way it is, some things never change.

The Courier @ the Pirates vs. Dodgers

The Pirates are trying their best to stay relevant in the competitive NL Central Division, and on Tuesday, June 4, the Bucs shut out the high-powered Los Angeles Dodgers, 1-0. Pirates pitcher Jared Jones got the victory. The Pirates went on to win the next night before losing the series finale. As of June 10, the Pirates were 31-34, seven and a half games back of the first-place Milwaukee Brewers.

Covering the PIRATES