6.26.24 NPC

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NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

To help bolster reelection efforts, the Biden-Harris Campaign announced a $1.5 million advertising deal with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA). Jasmine Harris, Director of National Black Media for Biden-Harris 2024, made the announcement during the NNPA’s 2024 Annual National Convention in Baltimore, where the weeklong event’s theme was, “Empowering the Black Press, Communities, Families, and Voter Turnout.” Biden-Harris 2024 also counted among the sponsors of the weeklong gathering, reflecting its strategic focus on Black media.

“In August of last year, our campaign announced the earliest and largest investment into Black media for any reelection campaign in history,” Harris declared. “This partnership with the NNPA is a continuation of those efforts and will strengthen our work in meeting Black voters where they are, to underscore the stakes of this election for Black America. President Biden and Vice President Harris are responsible for creating millions of new jobs for Black workers and record low Black unemployment.

Black America has far too much to lose this election.”

The Black Press, which dates to 1827, has remained a steadfast pillar for African American voices. That mission persists today as the Black Press approaches its 200th anniversary in 2027. “I think the campaign realizes that, by advertising with NNPA newspapers, it also serves to support the 230plus Black-owned small business media companies which will have the effect of stimulating the local economy,” said NNPA Sales and Business Development Director Ron Burke.

The NNPA is a trade association made up of Black-owned media companies.

“The partnership between Biden-Harris 2024

and the NNPA is urgent because we must pool all of our resources to keep Donald Trump out of office,” said Fran Farrer, the NNPA’s National Secretary and Publisher of The County News in Charlotte, N.C. “Biden has helped the Black community grow, and he and the vice president are on the ground fighting for our community and all of America.”

Hiram Jackson, CEO of Real Times Media, which publishes the Michigan Chronicle, expressed concern over the tight race in Michigan but saw the partnership as a vital step. “The race is close, but we haven’t been very aggressive yet,” Jackson insisted. “It’s great that Biden-Harris 2024 is beginning to embrace one of the Black community’s strongest institutions. The Black Press is an intergenerational tool highly trusted in the Black community.”

Jackson added that, “We are the ultimate influencer in terms of community engagement, but we need everybody to come to the table in this election.” He noted that a deeper sense of engagement than television or radio could develop by engaging the Black Press.

“To tell the story properly, you must have resources,” Jackson demanded. “The initial advertising deal between the campaign and the Black Press is a great first step. It symbolizes that the campaign understands the significance of the Black Press, but it can’t only be a first step. There must be many more steps to increase engagement, voter registration, and excitement.”

Four years ago, the 2020 Biden campaign experienced a pivotal moment in Charleston, South Carolina. An interview with Biden hosted by NNPA President & CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. and subsequent national news article circulated to the more than 200 Blackowned newspapers in the NNPA reached millions and significantly boosted Biden’s campaign. The event preceded a crucial

endorsement from South Carolina Democratic Rep. James Clyburn, propelling Biden to victory with a record turnout by Black voters.

“Black-owned media voices can shape political messaging, mobilize voters, and advocate for Black issues,” stated Bobby Henry, NNPA’s national chairman and publisher of the Westside Gazette in Florida. “We are subjected to political pressures and media scrutiny because we have the power to amplify our community’s concerns, influence public opinion, and hold leaders accountable.

Robert Bogle, First Vice Chair of the NNPA Fund and publisher of the Philadelphia Tribune, said continued engagement with Black voters in swing states like Pennsylvania is mandatory. “If President Biden is truly committed not only to this race but winning, he can’t do it without the vote of the African American community,” Bogle asserted.

“Philadelphia is crucial. They will need to spend more time here and dedicate to talking to African Americans. The campaign is dedicating $1.5 million to swing states (but) there is a place called America. Swing states are critical and will make a difference, but there must be a continued commitment to changing the environment for African Americans in America. If Biden wants to win, he and his campaign must have a commitment and dedication to the African American community and what our experience in America has been.”

The campaign is being responsive to the interests of Black America through the campaign’s advertising initiatives with the NNPA, said NNPA President & CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. “The Black vote throughout the United States will be a key determinative factor to the outcome of the 2024 national elections. We profoundly thank the Biden-Harris 2024 Campaign.”

Biden salutes WNBA's Las Vegas Aces

WASHINGTON (AP)

—President Joe Biden welcomed the reigning WNBA champions, the Las Vegas Aces, to the White House on May 9, celebrating what he called a “banner year” for women’s basketball.

“It matters to girls and women, finally seeing themselves represented,” Biden said during the celebration, held in the East Room of the White House. “It matters to all Americans. That’s why as a nation, we need to support women’s sports.”

Both he and Vice President Kamala Harris were given the customary jerseys from the winning team. As he held his up,

This Week In Black History A Courier Staple

• JUNE 26

1899—Black inventor William H. Richardson redesigns the baby carriage. While the idea for the baby carriage is nearly 300 years old, Richardson’s patent, filed at the Boston patent office, included several new features including a special joint which allowed the bassinet to be turned to face the mother or whoever was pushing the carriage. Many of Richardson’s designs are still in use today. [There is some authority that Richardson’s patent was actually filed on June 18.]

1942—Harvard medical student, Bernard W. Robinson, becomes the first African American to win a commission to the United States Navy.

• JUNE 27

1872—Paul Lawrence Dunbar, one of the most popular poets in Black American history, is born in Dayton, Ohio. Dunbar first gained national recognition with a collection of works published in 1896 entitled “Lyrics of a Lowly Life,” which included “Ode to Ethiopia.” Despite the power of his poetry, Dunbar angered some Blacks who were concerned about “what will White people think” because he generally used Black dialect and not Standard English in much of his poetry. Dunbar’s first poem was published in a newspaper owned by high school friends and American airplane pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright. The Wright brothers would also provide Dunbar with funds to open the Dayton Tattler—a newspaper geared toward the city’s Black community. Unfortunately, Dunbar died at the age of 34 in 1906 of Tuberculosis.

•JUNE 28

1839—Cinque (original name Senghbe), after being kidnapped and sold into slavery, is placed on the Spanish slave ship Amistad. The son of a King of the Mende (Mendi) tribe in West Africa would lead the most successful revolt on a slave ship during the entire history of the slave trade. The Amistad was captured by the slaves who killed the captain and attempted to sail the ship to Africa. But due to delaying tactics by the remaining White crew, the ship was captured by a U.S. naval ship. Cinque and the rebellious slaves were taken to New Haven, Conn., and put on trial for murder. Amazingly they won their case and were allowed to return to Africa.

1971—Muhammad Ali is allowed to box again after winning a victory in the United States Supreme Court. The court overturned his conviction for refusing to be drafted and serve in the United States war in Vietnam. When asked how he could claim to be a pacifist opposed to war while being a professional boxer, Ali’s most frequent response was, “I am not going 10,000 miles from here to help murder and kill and burn poor people to help continue the domination of White slave masters over the darker people.”

1978—The United States Supreme Court hands down the Bakke Decision which undermined affirmative action programs that had been designed to give preference to Blacks and other minorities in education and industry in order to compensate for decades of past discrimination. Although the court ruled affirmative action programs were constitutional; it struck down the use of quotas and that had the effect of weakening the affirmative action programs.

• JUNE 29

Biden yelled, “Put me in coach, I’m ready to play!”

In her own remarks, Harris praised the team for playing with “such joy” and being role models both on and off the basketball court.

“You simply inspire people across our nation and around the world,” Harris said.

The Las Vegas Aces defeated the New York Liberty in the WNBA championship last October to win their second consecutive WNBA title. As he began his remarks, Biden made a not-so-veiled reference to his own reelection prospects, noting, “I kind of like that back-toback stuff.”

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

1970—NAACP Chairman Stephen Gill Spottswood creates a national controversy by telling the annual convention of the civil rights organization that the administration of President Richard Nixon was “anti-Negro” and was pursuing policies “inimical to the needs and aspirations” of African-Americans.

1972—The United States Supreme Court rules in a historic five to four decision that as it was being carried out in America, the death penalty was “cruel and unusual punishment” and thus violated the Constitution. The ruling also suggested that the death penalty was racist. At the time 483 of the approximately 600 people waiting to be executed in the nation were Blacks or members of other minority groups. However, since the decision, at least 38 states and the federal government have re-instituted the death penalty by supposedly meeting Supreme Court guidelines.

• JUNE 30

1847—Dred Scott (and his wife, Harriet) files his famous lawsuit in St. Louis Circuit Court arguing that after living with a slave master for several years in nonslave territories, they should be considered free. After several twists and turns, the case makes its way to the United States Supreme Court where the court rules against Scott and Justice Roger B. Taney writes what may be the most racist decision ever rendered by the court. Taney wrote that Scott was “private property” and had no right to sue in federal court. He also declared that Blacks

were not citizens of America and never could be. Then he topped the decision by writing of Scott and all Blacks, “being of inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the White race…they have no rights which the White man is bound to respect.”

1917—Glamorous Singer-Actress Lena Horne is born in Brooklyn, N.Y., to an upper-income Black family. She would perform with Jazz greats such as Artie Shaw, Teddy Wilson, Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington. She also became the first African-American woman to sign a long-term contract with a major Hollywood studio. But she became disenchanted with Hollywood and returned to her nightclub career. She is best known for her 1940s hit “Stormy Weather.” In her later years she became active in civil rights including participation in Martin Luther King Jr.’s historic 1963 March on Washington. Horne died on May 9, 2010 at the age of 92.

1967—Major Robert H. Lawrence is named the first Black U.S. astronaut in the NASA space program. The Chicago-born Lawrence would later die under somewhat mysterious circumstances during a training exercise in December 1967.

1974—A deranged Black man, Marcus Chennault, shoots and kills the mother of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. Along with Alberta Christine Williams King, a church deacon was killed and another church member wounded. Chennault, a Dayton, Ohio, native, reportedly claimed that Black Christians were deceiving and misleading Black people.

1995—Song-stylist and singer Phyllis Hyman commits suicide in New York City shortly before she was scheduled to perform at a concert. Hyman was one of the premier female vocalists of her day. The reasons for her suicide were unclear. She left a note which read in part “I’m tired. I’m tired.” Hyman was 45—six days short of her 46 birthday—when she died.

• JULY 1

1863—Walter

Francis White is born in Atlanta, Ga. For nearly 25 years White was one of the most influential Black leaders in the nation. He headed the NAACP from 1931 to 1955. However, he first received national attention because of the way he looked. As a light-complexioned Black man with blue eyes, White was able to infiltrate racist groups and investigate planned brutality against Blacks. But in 1919, he barely escaped with his life while attempting to investigate the deadly Elaine Race Riot in Phillips County, Ark., which had left more than 200 Blacks dead. Somehow the mob discovered that White was in the area and set out to lynch him. But he was able to catch a train back to Little Rock before he could be identified. While on the train, the White conductor told him he was leaving town too early because the mob had discovered “a damn yellow Nigger passing for White and the boys are going to get him.” White would die in New York City in 1955. His autobiography is entitled “A Man Called White.”

1899—Thomas Andrew Dorsey is born in Villa Rica, Ga. Dorsey is widely credited with being the “Father of Gospel Music.” During the early 1930s, after leaving Atlanta for Chicago, Dorsey combined gospel and the blues while performing under the name “Georgia Tom.” He wrote more than 400 gospel and blues songs including his most famous “Precious Lord, Take My Hand.” He died in Chicago in 1993 at the age of 96. Once asked to comment on his life, Dorsey said, “I had hope, faith, courage, aspiration and most of all determination to accomplish something in life.”

• JULY 2

1777—Vermont becomes first U.S. territory to abolish slavery. By 1783, New Hampshire and Massachusetts had followed Vermont’s lead. The abolition of slavery was formally placed in the Vermont Constitution, which was formally adopted on July 8, 1777. A major force in the early abolition movement was a group known as the Rights of Man Movement.

1822—Denmark Vesey and five of his co-conspirators are hanged in Charleston, S.C. Vesey’s “crime” had been the organization of the largest slave rebellion in American history. But the insurrection was betrayed by a “house slave” before it could be implemented. Vesey was actually a former slave who had purchased his freedom.

1908—Thurgood Marshall is born in Baltimore, Md. Marshall would go on to become chief counsel for the NAACP and the lead attorney in the Brown v. Board of Education case, which led to the desegregation of the nation’s schools. President Lyndon Johnson would, in June 1967, nominate him to be the first African-American Justice on the United States Supreme Court because as Johnson put it, “It was the right thing to do and the right time to do it.”

1943—Lt. Charles Hall became the first African-American pilot to shoot down a Nazi warplane during World War II. Hall was from Brazil, Ind.

The Courier @ Hank Commodore's annual Family Bowling night

Longtime New Kensington-Arnold School District

public servant Hank Commodore is always a man for the community. On May 26, he hosted a Family Bowling Night at Zone 28 in Harmar Township to recognize not only veterans, but also giving families a chance to have some fun and win some prizes. The New Pittsburgh Courier has covered many of Mr. Commodore’s community events through the years. In April, Mr. Commodore was honored for his decades of community ser-

vice at MJ’s Bar & Grille in Arnold. His younger brother, Rev. Kent Commodore of Second Baptist Church in Ford City, was behind it all.

“He’s very humble,” Rev. Kent Commodore said about his brother in a Tribune-Review article.

“You should be able to feel good about what God is doing for you. That blessing is something. That’s God saying, ‘I want you to know you are appreciated for what I’m doing through you.’”

HANK COMMODORE STARTS THE CELEBRATION WITH PRAYER. (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)
HANK COMMODORE, GIVING TOYS AND BOOKS TO THE KIDS
HANK COMMODORE AUCTIONED OFF MANY GIFTS FOR FREE

Juneteenth brings out the stars

B. Marshall says upwards

an Summer Lee, HipHop icon Master P, and James Henry Harvey III, the retired United States Army Air Corps/ United States Air Force officer and member of the Tuskegee Airmen.

More than 100 organizations participated in the parade, which is growing every year, now that the African American Heritage Day Parade is no more in Pittsburgh. Corporate organizations included UPMC, Highmark, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and many more.

The main stage on June 15 (Saturday) was a must-see for R&B lovers. Elle Varner, Brownstone and KeKe Wyatt all took the stage, with Wyatt closing the night. Fans loved her live rendition of "Nothing in this World" and "My First Love," a hit she made famous with the singer Avant.

On Sunday, June 16, fans were delighted to Rev. Trini Massie and Nikki Porter on the Gospel front, and R&B star Stokley, who was lead singer of the group Mint Condition.

"We are extremely happy to report that this year we again hosted the largest Juneteenth Celebration in Pennsylvania," B. Marshall said in an email to supporters and the New Pittsburgh Courier on June 25. "We are excited for and looking forward to 2025."

On radio interviews, Marshall said he believed some 60 to 70 thousand people attended the three-day celebration, Downtown.

For Maisha Howze, it was her first time marching in the Grand Jubilee Juneteenth Parade. She is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc. "I felt just a true jubilee of all of us Black folks being together and the positive spirit that was flowing through. It was a great experience," she told the Courier.

Howze said that sisterhood is one of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority's principles. "To have all of us come together and be able to support this initiative, all the women of the Divine Nine, all of

us there to lean on each other is what we need.

Sisterhood and service is big for us. And being out there was of service to the community."

Howze returned on Sunday, June 15, to see Rev. Trini Massie and Nikki Porter. Reverend Massie is Minister of Worship at Mt. Ararat Baptist Church in Larimer. Porter is Minister of Music at Eastminster Presbyterian Church in East Liberty. Howze called their performances "amazing."

“Juneteenth was amazing,” said Tyian Battle, founder of ACH Clear Pathways, in the Hill District, who attended the June 16 festivities. “It brought a lot of people out in the Pittsburgh

region to fellowship and be amongst one another for the culture.”

Brandi Anderson-Cherry, the proud Beltzhoover resident, enjoyed Juneteenth, especially the parade. "It was lovely,"

she told the Courier. "You could feel the energy, everybody was happy. We celebrated Juneteenth in a good way."
RAPPER BEANIE SIGEL, TAKING PICTURES WITH FANS AT POINT STATE PARK, JUNE 14. (PHOTO BY ROB TAYLOR JR.)
KEKE WYATT PERFORMS...(PHOTO BY GAIL MANKER)
CHIEF IKHANA, BRANDI

Courier wins three NNPA Messenger Awards during 2024 NNPA Annual Convention

Parent company Real Times Media took home 8 awards in total

Normally, those in Baltimore, home to the rabid Ravens fans of the NFL, aren’t too fond of the Terrible Towel-waving, Steel City-marching Pittsburghers who love their Steelers.

But on June 20, 2024, Pittsburgh got a little love while in the Charm City.

During the National Newspaper Publisher Association’s annual Messenger Awards at the Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore, the New Pittsburgh Courier won three national awards for its editorial and journalistic prowess.

The Courier won two second-place awards for Best Layout & Design (Broadsheet) and Newsletter Excellence, and a third-place award for Best Business Story/ Feature.

In the past four years (2021-2024), the Courier has won 18 NNPA Messenger Awards, including seven in 2021, five in 2022, and three in 2023.

The Courier was named the third-best African American newspaper in the country in 2021, and won first-place in the Newspaper Excellence category in 2022.

The Courier’s parent company, Real Times Media, also owns the Michigan Chronicle (Detroit), which took home five awards on June 20.

The Chronicle placed first for Best Facebook Campaign, second-place for Website Excellence and Best Entertainment Section, and third-place for Best Education Story/Feature and Best Original Photography.

Overall, Real Times Media won eight awards, after winning seven in 2023.

“These awards are truly a testament to the dedication of our teams to tell stories that are reflective of our communities,” said Hiram E. Jackson, CEO of Real

Times Media and Publisher of the Michigan Chronicle, in a story posted to the Michigan Chronicle and NNPA websites. “I want to congratulate the Real Times Media staff for constantly staying abreast of the most important issues and reporting on these issues through the lens of the Black Press, which has served as our collective voice for the last 197 years.”

Rod Doss, Editor and Publisher of the Courier, added: “It’s a great honor to be recognized for excellence by your peers, and it’s the collective hard work of the Real Times Media team –constantly learning and adapting with the times – that makes these honors truly special. We are constantly searching for new ways to serve our communities, and it’s critically important, especially during such a tumultuous political climate, to continue to inform, educate and entertain our readers with accurate and insightful journalism.”

Competition is the key word when referring to the NNPA Messenger Awards. A highlight of the NNPA Annual Convention, some 200 Black publications across the U.S. submit their best journalistic work in nearly 25 categories to the NNPA, which are then rated by independent judges. This year, the winner of the Newspaper of the Year went to the St. Louis American (Russwurm Award), which won a total of 12 awards. The Houston Forward Times won seven awards; The Atlanta Voice, The Observer (Sacramento) and The Baltimore Times each won six; The New York Amsterdam News won five; The Houston Defender won four; Insight News (Minnesota) and the Afro American (Baltimore) each won three; the Final Call, Texas Metro News, Los

Angeles Sentinel, Seattle Medium and Philadelphia Tribune each won two; and the Washington Informer and Minnesota Spokesman Recorder each won one

African American Summit on Dementia held, June 25

ALZHEIMER’S FROM A1

cular disease may play a significant part.

“More and more people are being diagnosed with the disease and many are suffering in silence with a myriad of strange behavior. There is information and education out there for families to learn about the disease and if they notice any of these behaviors to get checked and don’t wait.” explained Diane Powell, Chair of Black Women For Positive Change and a community educator for the Alzheimer’s Association Greater PA Chapter. Some warning signs of Alzheimer’s and dementia include forgetting things you just learned, problems managing money, getting lost in familiar places, confusion about the time of day, forgetting common words, constantly losing things, skipping social gatherings, loss of interest in reading and personality changes.

Getting regular exercise, eating a Mediterranean style diet, maintaining strong social relationships, and getting adequate sleep are ways to help with cognitive decline as one ages to try and help prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer's and dementia.

The summit was the culmination of events

that occurred in the month of June. Earlier in the month, the organization held a weekend of events at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, including the stage play, "Unforgettable," which was penned by Garrett Davis. Davis wrote the play to pay homage to his late grandmother, Goodness, whose dementia diagnosis blindsided his family. “I went home from college on spring break, and she didn’t know who I was. I was young and immature, and I didn’t go back because I couldn’t stand to see her like that,” recalled Davis, whose mother now suffers with Alzheimer's Disease. He wrote the first version of the play, entitled, “Forget Me Not,” to pay homage to his family’s journey with the illness. That show toured for a decade, and he thought it was time to update the scenario to fit into today’s mix. That’s how “Unforgettable” was born.

“It’s a funny and enjoyable play, there’s a lightness to it. We are trying to take the heaviness out of Alzheimer’s. This has taken on a life of its own. It’s a movement now,” said Davis, who is working on a mental health project and a diabetes piece, which he hopes to put out in 2025. The summit held on

June 25 was moderated by WAMO 107.3 Sunday Gospel host Brother Marlon Martin, a tireless Alzheimer's Association advocate. Martin told the New Pittsburgh Courier that he lost both of his parents, Douglas and Ercell Martin, to Alzheimer's. Martin's father, Douglas, passed in August 2014. His mother, Ercell, passed in April 2023. Ercell Martin was the caregiver for her husband, Douglas, when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 1997. "We ultimately had to put him in a nursing home (Southwestern Veterans Center), but my mom became an advocate for everyone on the floor in his facility," Marlon Martin told the Courier. "She became known as the person that would get things done."

Marlon Martin recalled his father as a community leader, state constable, "he was active in our church...and so watching him now not remember who we were, not remember how to take care of himself, it was really difficult during that time." Martin added: "When it happened to my mom, it hit me even harder. When it was my dad, me and my mom went through it together...but when it was my mom, I realized I'm doing this alone. It was difficult to

have to go through that whole process all over again of watching your loved one deteriorate right before your eyes."

Throughout the threehour summit, Melita Terry, with the University of Pittsburgh Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, gave pertinent tips on participating in clinical trials, and there was a discussion featuring scheduled panelists Amber Snyder of Bethel AME Church, Lisa Martinelli with Allegheny Health Network, Dr. Jermaine McKinley with Bethesda United Presbyterian Church, Sara Murphy with the local Alzheimer's Association, Terry, and Dr. James Weeden with the Allegheny County Health Department.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Margaret Larkins-Pettigrew, Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer for Allegheny Health Network. In an exclusive interview with the Courier following her presentation, Dr. Pettigrew doubled down on how she believed that the racism that African Americans have experienced and still experience in the U.S. "really does interfere with some of the health care that we receive as well as the research that we do," she said. Many African Americans who are diagnosed with Alz-

heimer's "have a history of toxic stress, just like all African Americans have in this country, and we need to be aware of that, because it does add to the complications of Alzheimer's. Most people who come into a state of Alzheimer's already have some comorbidities," or the presence of two or more medical conditions in a patient, "because they are African American."

As mentioned previously, Alzheimer's is the seventh-leading cause of

Dr. Pettigrew added: "We all have to be on this Diversity, Equity and Inclusion journey to give better health care and health access to those individuals who suffer from Alzheimer's."

(Rob Taylor Jr. contributed to this story.)

County, according to county data. In 2023, the county won a federal grant of $1.85 million over five years to support its residents with Alzheimer's.

death in Allegheny
REAL TIMES MEDIA CEO AND MICHIGAN CHRONICLE PUBLISHER HIRAM E. JACKSON, NEW PITTSBURGH COURIER EDITOR AND PUBLISHER ROD DOSS, AND MICHIGAN CHRONICLE EXECUTIVE EDITOR JEREMY ALLEN ACCEPT THE NNPA MESSENGER AWARDS, JUNE 20, 2024, IN BALTIMORE.
award.
The Baltimore Times’ Joy Bramble was named Publisher of The Year.

Bonnie McLain celebrates birthday No. 80!

“Therefore, the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an EVIL TIME. Seek GOOD and NOT EVIL, that you may LIVE; and so the LORD, The GOD of HOST, shall be with you, as you have spoken.” - Amos 5:13-14

REV. WALKER SAYS: There is a time to be silent. Keep doing what is right, for the times are EVIL.

FAMILY PHOTO! BONNIE MCLAIN CELEBRATED HER 80TH BIRTHDAY PARTY IN MAY 2024. (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)
BONNIE MCLAIN! THE FAMILY! THE KIDS! THE GRANDKIDS!
BONNIE MCLAIN DANCES WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY...

THE DARKNESS OF OPTIMISM

Now isn't the

I want to present a logical scenario to you to see if it has any reasoning at its core. The definition of optimism is, “hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something.” The definition of pessimism is a “tendency to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen; a lack of hope or confidence in the future.”

The Pittsburgh Steelers are just a few weeks from the start of training camp. With most of the waters of preseason trades, freeagent signings, draft pick agreements, team maintenance, and upgrades having flowed under the bridges of opportunity, sooner than later, it will be time to “get to crackin.” There is a delusional and illusional sports media culture being created and maintained by many undocumented and unverified “journalistic immigrants,” hailing from ports unknown. Unfortunately, there isn’t a wall long enough, tall enough, or wide enough to keep most of them from breaching our borders of “journalistic integrity” and polluting our “streams of information.” Many of

time to devalue Russ, Fields in the media

these sports analysts twist the king’s English around like a $3 hot pretzel with mustard on the side. I and many others often think that before a season begins, hope will spring forth from the well of eternity, even for the worst of teams. But hold it, not so fast, Kemosabe. Recently, Zac Wassink posted a story on Yardbarker titled: “Analyst thinks ‘toxic positivity’ could down ‘delusional’ Russell Wilson with Steelers.”

The following excerpt from the piece says: “I think when you’re delusional, you think you can point the finger at eight million different places that say, ‘This is why this happened. This is why,’ Mark Schlereth said about Wilson during a recent edition of the ‘Stinkin’ Truth’ podcast, as shared by Matthew Marczi of Steelers Depot. ‘That toxic positivity and surrounding yourself with people that basically [tell you], ‘It’s not your fault, man.’’ Much has been said and written about Wilson’s struggles with the Denver Broncos across the past two seasons, his relationships with Denver players and his polarizing personality that seemingly rubbed at least

some within the organization the wrong way.”

:10—Willie Mays, the greatest baseball player of all-time in my humble opinion, passed away on Tuesday, June 18, at 93. Known for so many things in the field and at the batter’s box, Willie’s grace and seemingly effortless playing ability are what we remember most. We will lead with this—There have been 20,661 men that have played major league baseball since 1876. Willie Mays has 300+ home runs, 300+ stolen bases, 3,000+ hits and a batting average over .300 (.301 to be exact.) He is the only player to accomplish this in MLB history. The only one.

:09—Willie’s highlights are too many to fit into the entirety of this newspaper, so let’s just spotlight a few of the staggering statistics and plays he accomplished throughout his amazing career. Let’s start at the beginning: In 1951, at the tender age of 20, Willie won the NL Rookie of the Year Award. In 1952 Willie played in only 34 games and did not play in 1953 due to military duty in the Army.

:08—With his Army duty behind him, Willie came back in 1954 with a vengeance, winning the MVP Award and leading his New York Giants to the World Series where they swept the Cleveland Indians in four straight games. In Game 1 in the top of the 8th inning, Cleveland’s first baseman Vic Wertz came to the plate and hit a prodigious blast to deep center field in the old Polo Grounds Stadium, 450 feet. Willie, patrolling center field, sprinted to deep center and with his back to the in-

field, at full sprint, made an over-the-shoulder catch of Wertz’s massive drive and had the incredible wherewithal to spin after the catch and fire the ball back to second base and prevent any runners to tag up and score. This is considered by most experts to be the single greatest defensive play in the history of the game and who am I to dispute this opinion?

:07—As mentioned earlier, Willie did his duty and served two years in the United States Army and is to be commended for his patriotism and his service. Willie ended his career with 660 home runs, 2,068 runs scored, 1,909 RBI and 3,293 hits. If he had played both seasons we can do the math and conservatively estimate that Willie would have broken Babe Ruth’s home run record instead of Hank Aaron and ended up with between 733 and 764 home runs which would place him No. 1 instead of Barry Bonds, about 2,300 runs scored which, again, would be the all-time record, 2,170 RBI, which would be fourth all-time, another 350 hits to pad his total to 3,643 hits, fourth all-time ahead of Stan Musial, and add about 80 more stolen bases to the 339 total and you’ve got 419

Hold up, Mr. Schlereth. The “Stinkin’ Truth” smells like carrion in the desert, but it damn sure ain’t the truth, not one syllable of it. The motivational speaker Zig Ziglar once described such negativity as “stinking thinking.” Almost everyone with an opinion and a laptop told ex-Steelers QB Kenny Pickett game after game that his miserable and putrid performances with the Black and Gold were not his fault. Pickett underperformed because of an incompetent offensive coordinator, Matt Canada, inefficient wide receivers, a bad offensive line, an unreliable running game, a defense that couldn’t hold onto miniscule leads when, many times, the Pickett-led offense was more often than not, asleep at the wheel. How in the hell can believing in yourself after a

career of accomplishments be defined as toxic when many so-called analysts were optimistic about Kenny Pickett and believed in him before he attempted to throw his first NFL pass? There seemed to be more hype about Kenny Pickett than Ben Roethlisberger in their rookie years. Alan Faneca, the Steelers NFL Hallof-Famer, once scolded a reporter when he was asked if it was exciting to see Roethlisberger play. “No, it’s not exciting”, he said. “Do you want to go work with some little young kid who’s just out of college?” Ben Roethlisberger was forced to start in his rookie year and performed well beyond expectations. Well as for Kenny Pickett, we shouldn’t drag a dead horse. If Russell Wilson’s belief in himself is considered delusional and toxic, many of these writers should be rewarded with one-way tickets to Western Psych for thinking optimism is delusional. These people are the “imps of darkness” whose only purpose is to transport buckets full of negative energy to douse the fire of success for certain players who perform for the Steelers. Now that

their almost-two-decades ploy to drive Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin out to the desert of unemployment hasn’t worked, there is a new and more convenient target for the “yinzer warriors” to focus on. The new bullseye is Russell Wilson. See folks, in the minds of a few “sickos” the “war of word attacks” on Russell Wilson has begun. The first piece of red meat that was tossed into the water was that Wilson had to be washed up for his former coach to release Wilson and “eat” the remainder of his guaranteed salary. When ex-Chicago Bears Justin Fields was acquired by Pittsburgh, the foul-mouthed speculators began round two by creating and cultivating rumors to promote baseless and readership-generating storylines that Wilson was on the chopping block because the Steelers now had Justin Fields, the QB that they had wanted all along. Football writer Curt Popejoy recently posted this glob of gobbety gook online. “Steelers quarterback Justin Fields named ‘Player to Root For’ by NFL Network.” Popejoy writes: “(Russell) Wilson is a borderline Hall

of Famer and did not come to the Steelers to be the backup to anyone. This means we really don’t know if there will be a legitimate quarterback battle in training camp or not, but NFL writer Tom Blair is still rooting for Fields this year. ‘I almost made it through this entire file without naming a quarterback, but this one’s kind of unavoidable. Fields is at a career crossroads basically because he is not a clearcut generational talent, and Chicago had an opportunity to draft someone who could be.’” Russell Wilson has been reduced and devalued as a potential “borderline Hall of Famer.” Justin Fields is not a “clear-cut” generational talent. Ask yourself this question. Were any of the quarterbacks that were in the 2023 QB room of the Pittsburgh Steelers clearcut generational talents or borderline future NFL Hallof-Famers? There may not be a legitimate quarterback battle during the Steelers 2024 training camp. However, there will certainly be a battle for the credibility and legitimacy of the media pool that covers the exploits of the Black and Gold.

stolen bases if the math is correct. Plainly he would be heralded as baseball’s alltime best player universally.

:06—Along with our own beloved Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Roberto Clemente, Willie was a 12-time winner of the Gold Glove for outstanding defense, tied for the most ever by an outfielder. Willie Mays is pretty much unanimously regarded as the greatest fielding center fielder in MLB history and I don’t see anyone realistically in the discussion as his equal. He was just that damn good.

:05—Hall of Fame pitchers Willie Mays batted against in his career—Sandy Koufax, Warren Spahn, Tom Seaver, Robin Roberts, Don Drysdale, Jim Bunning, Don Sutton, Fergie Jenkins, Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, Early Wynn and I may have missed out on one or two others. That list is staggering.

:04—With Willie passing, the title of greatest living Hall of Famer is up for debate. Many pundits have put Ken Griffey Jr. at the top of the list, along with Nolan Ryan, Rickey Henderson, Steve Carlton, Greg Maddux and Mike Schmidt. Since we’re talking Hall of Fame, that leaves off Barry Bonds, so I’m gonna throw a name at you who is vastly underrated at this point —Boston Red Sox all-time great Carl Yastrzemski. And yeah, I had to look up how to spell that last name. Carl hit in the pitching era of the late 1960s when the mound was raised and pitchers were at a greater advantage than ever before in MLB history. Yet

Carl won the Triple Crown and MVP in 1967, amassed 3,419 hits, 442 home runs and 1,845 RBI and the man is virtually forgotten. I’m just saying, let’s show some love to this all-timer, he was tremendous.

:03—A thrilling Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday, June 24. Florida had a 3 games to none lead and Edmonton came all the way back to force a Game 7. I thought Edmonton was going to pull it off, but as it turned out, Florida won, 2-1, to secure their first Stanley Cup in their 31-year history and leaves Canada without a Stanley Cup winner since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens.

:02—Paul Skenes is now in the discussion for the NL Cy Young Award and is the absolute front-runner for Rookie of the Year. Sunday, June 23, he pitched 7

innings against the Tampa Bay Rays, struck out 8, allowed 1 run and his final pitch was a 102 mph fastball that struck out Alex Jackson swinging. Skenes’ ERA is now 2.14, the second-lowest in all of baseball and he has, in 8 games started, never left the game with the Pirates behind on the scoreboard. That is a phenomenal statistic. I hope the Pirates don’t waste this trio of pitchers, Mitch Keller and Jared Jones also, because we will most likely never ever see a pitching staff like this in Pittsburgh ever again. The Pirates management is to be congratulated on this staff but we need hitting, Bryan Reynolds can’t do it alone.

:01—The last few weeks we have seen the passing of Lakers HOF great Jerry West, Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics HOF great Bill Walton and now

New York/San Francisco Giants and, briefly NY Mets HOF great Willie Mays. It is to be said that all three were legendary players deserving of their HOF inductions but let it also be said that these three all-time great athletes conducted themselves outside the sports arena as truly great men to be emulated and revered for how they carried themselves each and every day with kindness, intelligence and decency. They will truly be missed.

:00—Scottie Scheffler won the PGA Travelers Championship Sunday, June 23, beating Tom Kim on the first hole of sudden death to win for the sixth time this year. With three months to go till the season winds down, Scheffler has already won $27,696,858 dollars this year. Read it again. Wow. Just Wow. GAME OVER.

Addressing the Need for Down Payment Assistance in Black and Brown Communities

As the dream of homeownership becomes increasingly elusive for many, particularly within Black and Brown communities, the importance of down payment assistance (DPA) programs cannot be overstated. Millennials and Gen Z, already burdened with student debt, stagnating wages, and rising living costs, face significant barriers to entering the housing market. This reality is even starker for young people of color, who often contend with systemic financial inequities and discriminatory lending practices.

Overcoming Barriers through Down Payment Assistance Programs

Down payment assistance programs play a crucial role in bridging the gap to homeownership. These programs provide financial support that can significantly reduce the initial cost of purchasing a home, making it more attainable for first-time buyers. For Black and Brown communities, DPA programs help

counteract historical and ongoing discrimination in the housing market. By offering grants, low-interest loans, or forgivable loans for down payments, these programs lower the entry threshold and make homeownership a realistic goal for many who would otherwise be excluded.

One of the main barriers to homeownership is the accumulation of a sufficient down payment. For many young people of color, generational wealth gaps mean they cannot rely on family support to the same extent as their White counterparts. This disparity makes DPA programs not just beneficial but essential in leveling the playing field.

Why Affordable Housing Matters in Urban Neighborhoods Building affordable housing in urban neighborhoods is a critical strategy for fostering inclusive, vibrant communities. Urban areas often offer better access to jobs, education, healthcare, and other essential services. By prioritizing affordable housing in these locations, we can ensure that low- and moderate-income families have the opportunity to thrive in environments that support upward mobility.

For Black and Brown Millennials and Gen Z, urban affordable housing projects can provide a foothold in neighborhoods that are otherwise financially out of reach. These communities benefit from the cultural richness and economic opportunities that urban centers provide. Moreover, integrating affordable housing into urban development helps prevent the segregation and marginalization of low-income families, promoting a more equitable distribution of resources

Having a plan for your money is crucial to building a solid financial foundation. If you’re just getting started on your financial journey, the 50-30-20 rule can help you spend and save your money wisely.

By distributing your dollars into three main categories or buckets: needs, wants and savings, the idea is to limit fixed expenses (or needs) to 50 percent of your after-tax income and discretionary expenses (or wants) to 30 percent, leaving 20 percent for savings. The 50-30-20 rule isn’t a requirement but can be a great starting point to help you take control of your finances, plan your spending and progress towards your financial goals.

50: What are your needs?

In this bucket, half of your funds go toward paying expenses you can’t avoid. We all need food, housing and healthcare, and other needs could include transportation, clothing and utilities. Regular debt payments, like monthly credit card minimums and loan payments, would also be considered a need because you have a deadline to pay them each month.

What makes something a “need” versus a “want” depends on your lifestyle. Transportation is typically considered a need, but the type of transportation you

select might vary depending on where you live. Having a vehicle may be a legitimate need to get to work and earn money to pay bills, but consider whether you need a luxury car, or if something less expensive would work. We also need food and clothing, but funds spent on these two categories can flow into the “wants” bucket depending on your choices, such as dining out versus cooking at home or wearing designer gear versus department store basics.

mon in this category since it’s fun to spend money on things we enjoy. Take time to prioritize your most important wants and desires and cut back if you find your spending here going over 30 percent.

20: Save for the future  This category is all about what you want to do with the money in the future. Do you want to travel the world? Retire early? Help your children pay for college? Once your essential needs and more immediate wants are handled, you can

your money to needs, wants and savings and offer insights into where you may need to cut back. Use it to help you on your journey to financial success.

30: What do you want?  Everyone should be able to enjoy life’s simple pleasures, and maybe a few extravagant ones as well. Put aside 30 percent of your funds for these “wants,” which can include entertainment, cable/streaming services, dining out, fitness memberships, travel, hobbies, personal care beyond the basics and a cell phone beyond the basic plan.

Overspending can be com-

put the rest of your funds —20 percent—toward achieving your long-term goals.  If you want to pay off debt more quickly, beyond making your ongoing required payments, you can use money from this bucket to help speed up your plan as well.

Refilling your buckets

Once you’ve given this rule a try for a few months, you might notice your

spending and savings habits fall well outside of the 50-30-20 guideline. That’s when it’s time to make some tradeoffs.  Be honest about whether the items you’re putting in the needs category are vital to your life or if you could classify some or all those expenses as a want. It’s OK to spend more on housing if having a more expensive place is important to you; it just means you spend less on a car to balance things out. If your wants are way beyond 30 percent, consider scaling back and contributing more to saving for longterm goals. In the same vein, if you don’t have 20 percent leftover after spending on needs and wants, consider making some adjustments in your other buckets so you have enough for savings.

Tying it all together

The 50-30-20 rule can help you allocate your money to needs, wants and savings and offer insights into where you may need to cut back. Use it to help you on your journey to financial success. (For more saving tips, visit chase.com/personal/financial-goals. For informational/educational purposes only: Views and strategies described may not be appropriate for everyone and are not intended as specific advice/recommendation for any individual. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but JPMorgan Chase & Co. or its affiliates and/or subsidiaries do not warrant its completeness or accuracy.)

411 is the telephone number for directory information. We informally use the numeric expression 411 as a synonym for information or knowledge. I was recently listening to a podcast where the host was detailing the 1-4-4 rule. This rule is about goal-setting and money management. Although I’ve written about both goal-setting and money management extensively, I’ve never heard of the 1-4-4 rule. As I listened to this rule and jotted down notes, I thought it was a noble concept worthy of sharing with you.

Below is the 4–1-1 on the 1-4-4 Rule for Money Management: Managing personal finances can often feel overwhelming, especially with the myriad of advice, strategies and goals one needs to consider. To simplify this process and make it more manageable, the 1-4-4 rule offers a straightforward approach to financial planning. This method breaks down the year into manageable segments, ensuring that individuals can set and achieve their financial goals without feeling overwhelmed.

Here’s a detailed look at the 1-4-4 rule, its explanation, and the benefits it offers.

“1” Represents One Year: The foundation of the 1-4-4 rule is the

concept of a single year. Viewing financial planning in annual increments allows individuals to align their financial goals with the calendar year, making it easier to track progress and make adjustments as needed. A one-year time frame is neither too short to limit significant progress nor too long to feel indefinite, striking a balance that encourages consistent effort.

“4” Represents the Four Seasons (Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall) The second component of the 1-4-4 rule is dividing the year into four seasons: winter, spring, summer and fall. Each season represents a distinct period of three months. This seasonal division not only aligns with natural cycles and changes in lifestyle but also breaks down the year into smaller, more manageable time frames. By focusing on shorter periods, individuals can concentrate on specific tasks and goals, making the process

less daunting and more achievable.

“4” Represents One Financial Goal Per Season, Totaling Four Goals Per Year

The final element of the 1-4-4 rule is setting one financial goal per season, resulting in a total of four goals per year. By limiting the focus to one goal every three months, individuals can dedicate their time and resources to achieving specific objectives without spreading themselves too thin. This approach ensures that each goal receives the attention and effort it needs for successful completion, leading to steady progress throughout the year.

One of the primary advantages of the 1-4-4 rule is its simplicity. The structure of setting one goal per season over a one-year period is easy to understand and implement. This straightforward approach eliminates the complexity often associated with financial planning,

making it accessible to individuals of all financial backgrounds and levels of expertise. Helps in Achieving Financial Tasks Without Feeling Overwhelmed: Financial planning can be overwhelming, especially when trying to address multiple goals simultaneously. The 1-4-4 rule alleviates this pressure by encouraging a focused approach. By concentrating on one goal at a time, individuals can tackle financial tasks step-by-step, reducing stress and increasing the likelihood of success. This methodical approach helps prevent burnout and maintains motivation throughout the year.

Provides Ample Time (Three Months) to Complete Each Task: Another significant benefit of the 1-4-4 rule is the three-month period allocated to each goal. This duration provides ample time to plan, execute and refine strategies to achieve the desired outcome. The quarterly time frame allows for thorough consideration and implementation of each goal, ensuring that individuals can make meaningful progress without feeling rushed. It also offers the flexibility to adjust plans if unexpected challenges

A YOUNG, AFRICAN AMERICAN COUPLE teaches their daughter the art of saving money, planning future purchases together, putting
ANTHONY O. KELLUM

Five strategies to grow Black homeownership

In 1865, over 159 years ago, the U.S. eliminated or outlawed slavery in the U.S. with the passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. One of the promises and pledges to freed slaves was that each would receive 40 acres and a mule. This commitment would help former slaves with building a home, raising a family and growing wealth through land ownership and entrepreneurship. While some Black Americans were able to receive land in the 1860s and 1870s, unfortunately, many former slaves nor their descendants ever received land. In fact, many Black Americans that were given land were chased off their land with force and brutal-

ity from the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and other White supremacy organizations.  Still to this day the dream of land and homeownership continues to be elusive for Black Americans from slavery, post slavery, the Jim Crow Era, the Civil

Rights Era to the present. Whether it was the trick bag of sharecropping, land contracts, subprime loans, eminent domain policies or outright redlining of Black neighborhoods by banks and government organizations, it should not come as a surprise that there continues to be a persistent 30-point racial gap in homeownership rates in the U.S. Racial disparities in homeownership is at the core of wealth inequality in this country, you can’t separate the two. America is anchored in home and land ownership, always has been, always will be. In fact, for many years, only White men that owned property could vote in the U.S.  Below are several strategies to help grow Black homeownership in the U.S.: Federal Student loan forgiveness for purchasing a home.  African Ameri-

cans are disproportionately impacted by student loan debt forcing many to forgo homeownership. A program that addresses this disparity and forgives student loan debt would help many Black Americans achieve their homeownership dreams. Create down payment assistance and federal Housing programs for Black descendants of slavery. Currently there are initiatives and dedicated federal housing and mortgage lending programs and incentives for Native Americans, similar efforts should be established for Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC), those that are descendants of slaves in America.  Create federal and state homeownership zone programs in communities with persistent low rates of Black homeownership especially in formerly red-

Cost of the American Dream jumped 47 percent since 2020

—Regardless of race, income, or geography, every family needs and deserves a place to call home. It’s a place not only for shelter from life’s many storms; but also, where families come after school or work, celebrate birthdays or holidays—and all the activities that together turn a house into a home.  But in recent years, the ability to have a home—as a renter or as a home owner—has been an

increasing financial strain. In the worst circumstances are those who no longer have a place to call home. In 2023, a record 653,100 people experienced homelessness on a single night in January, up 70,600 people in a single year, according to The State of the Nation’s Housing 2024, an annual report just published by Harvard’s Joint Center on Housing Studies (JCHS). This figure includes an additional 22,800 people living outside or staying in places not intended for hu-

Role of down payment assistance in affordable housing for Millennials and Gen Z

and opportunities.

The Broader Impact of Down Payment Assistance Beyond individual homeownership, down payment assistance has broader social and economic impacts. Homeownership is a key driver of wealth accumulation and financial stability. When more families in Black and Brown community’s own homes, it strengthens the community’s overall economic health and resilience. Property ownership can lead to greater community investment, improved local schools, and better neighborhood services, creating growth and development.  Additionally, homeownership fosters a sense of pride and stability. It allows families to plant roots, participate more fully in their communities, and build a legacy for future generations. For Millennials and Gen Z, achieving homeownership through DPA pro-

grams can represent a significant milestone toward financial independence and community empowerment.

Summary Down payment assistance programs are vital tools in the quest for affordable housing, especially for Black and Brown Millennials and Gen Z. By addressing the financial barriers to homeownership, these programs enable more young people of color to achieve the American dream of owning a home. Furthermore, by focusing on urban neighborhoods, we can ensure that affordable housing developments support diverse, vibrant, and equitable communities. As we move forward, expanding and enhancing DPA programs will be essential in promoting inclusive growth and prosperity for all.

(Property is Power! is a movement to promote home and community ownership. Studies indicate, homeownership leads to higher graduation rates, family wealth, and community involvement.)

man habitation, pushing the unsheltered population to an all-time high.

The report also documents that of the 22.4 million renters who pay over 30 percent of household income for housing, 12.1 million of these consumers pay more than half of their income on housing and utilities. And nationwide, renters with the lowest incomes have just $310 left over each month to cover all their non-housing needs.

“Rents have been rising faster than incomes for decades,” says Alexander Hermann, a Senior Research Associate at the Center.

“However, the pandemic-era rent surge produced an unprecedented affordability crisis that continues.”

More than half of Black (57 percent), Latino (54 percent), and multiracial (50 percent) renter households remain cost-burdened since 2022.  As a rule, affordable housing should cost no more than 30 percent of household income.

Renters seeking to transition to homeownership face daunting financial challenges as well.

“Whether it’s the high downpayment or the monthly mortgage payments, the costs of buying a home have left homeownership out of reach to all but the most advantaged households,” says Daniel McCue, a JCHS Senior Research Associate.

According to the report, a consumer purchasing a home with an affordable FHA loan that requires only a 3.5 percent down payment would incur a  a monthly payment of $3096, and  an annual income of at least $119,800, only one in seven (6.6 million) of the nation’s 45 million renters can qualify for that mortgage payment.

“In the event a buyer could not qualify for a low-downpayment loan, the required cash would be $89,600 for a 20 percent downpayment and 3 percent closing costs on the same property. Assuming the buyer earns the

national median household income of $74,800, they would need to save more than a full year’s salary to amass sufficient cash,” states the report.

Beyond the nation’s 47 percent jump in housing costs since 2020, households of color now have additional hurdles to overcome before achieving their own American Dream.

For example, increasing costs and numbers of climate disasters have led to corresponding increases in home insurance costs. In 2023, the number of billion-dollar disasters reached a record 28, affecting 60.5 million housing units.

In reaction, and according to Forbes, the average annual cost for insurance on a house valued at $350,000 is $1,678. However, insurance costs in Alabama, Florida, Kansas, and Mississippi average more than $2,000 per year. Residents in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma pay more than $3,000 yearly.

Further, historic racial wealth disparities contribute to the nation’s large racial homeownership gap, Intergenerational transfers of wealth that often help whites with downpayments and/or mortgage financing remain an exception rather than the rule for many Blacks, according to JCHS. And access to affordable credit remains a nagging deterrent to homeownership.

“Addressing these challenges will not be easy,” says Chris Herbert, Managing Director of the Center. “But with concerted efforts by policymakers at all levels of government, together with the private and nonprofit sectors, we have the ability to increase the supply of quality, affordable homes in thriving communities across the US.”

(Charlene Crowell is a senior policy fellow with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at Charlene.crowell@responsiblelending.org.)

lined communities. Intentional efforts to invest in rehabilitation of existing homes, coupled with infill housing, funding for homebuyer education, downpayment and closing subsidies, special purpose mortgage credit programs, energy efficiency grants, and property tax incentives would have a huge impact on increasing Black homeownership.

Lower mortgage interest rates despite the current historically low rate of Black unemployment in the U.S., high mortgage interest rates are limiting the potential for increasing the growth rate of Black homeownership. According to data from Freddie Mac, there are over 2 million mortgage/credit eligible potential Black American homebuyers in the U.S.

Increasing the number of Black Real Estate Agents, Appraisers, Loan Officers

and Underwriters the housing ecosystem sorely lacks diversity. Underrepresentation in these key professions plays a major role in housing discrimination, redlining, bias in mortgage lending, and the undervaluing of properties owned by Black Americans.  It’s important to note that Juneteenth and homeownership month are in the same month. Hopefully, one day, the promise of land and home ownership will be realized equally and equitably for Black Americans.

(Antoine M. Thompson is a housing policy

President of the Black Housing Policy Network (BHPN), Licensed Real Estate Agent with EXP Realty Group, former National Executive Director of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB). He is a former NYS Senator and former Buffalo City/Common Coun-

Five first steps to start a company

Starting a business is a challenging task that requires a certain optimism, imagination and perseverance. If you’re looking to start your own business, here are some important initial steps to consider:

1. Know the business in and out.  Whether you want to sell homemade sauces, open a place that serves coffee or offers Artificial Intelligence services, you should know your product or service, the market you have and the competitors. Briefly and simply describe what your business consists of, what need or market it serves and who your potential clients are.

2. Create a Business Plan. A guide or roadmap focused on your business idea, the market and how you plan to reach your objectives, will not only help you open and face the challenges that exist in a business but also maintain it. Additionally, it will allow you to focus on your idea, see the path ahead and communicate it to potential investors. Agile startups only need the description of the proposal, what is needed, finances and potential clients.

3. Assess the need for financing and look for it.  The business plan you created will help you. Many entrepreneurs initially use their personal credit card to fund a business, but there are actually business credit cards, like Chase’s Ink Business Cash Card, that can help meet your needs while earning rewards like cash back on business purchases. If you’re looking to obtain a business loan, you can work with a bank or through the Small Business Administration. Alternatively, there may be public and foundation subsidies where you can do crowdfunding.   4. Determine the legal structure and register your company. This affects your tax obligations and legal liability. Some options include sole proprietorship, or Unipersonal Company—one owner is responsible for the debts; partnership—if there are more than two people; corporation—to separate personal responsibility from that of the business; LLC —or Limited Liability (the most common). Seek legal assistance to determine what structure is best for you and your business.    5. Register with the IRS.  Consider whether you should have an employer identifier number among other things to keep tax obligations separate.  For more information and tips on how to start and manage a business, visit chase. com/business.   For informational/ educational purposes only: Views and strategies described may not be appropriate for everyone and are not intended as specific advice/recommendation for any individual. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but JPMorgan Chase & Co. or its affiliates and/or subsidiaries do not warrant its completeness or accuracy.

DAMON CARR FROM B1

arise, maintaining a realistic and adaptable approach to financial management.

To effectively implement the 1-4-4 Rule, follow these steps:

Identify Your Annual Financial Goals:

Begin by listing the financial goals you want to achieve within the next year. These could include paying off debt, building an emergency fund, saving for a major purchase, investing, or any other financial priorities.

Prioritize and Assign

Goals to Each Season:

Once you have identified your goals, prioritize them based on urgency and importance. Assign

one goal to each season, considering factors such as your financial situation, upcoming events, and personal preferences. Ensure that the goals are evenly distributed and realistic within the given time frame.

Create a Seasonal Action Plan: For each goal, develop a detailed action plan outlining the steps needed to achieve it. Break down the goal into smaller tasks and set deadlines within the three-month period. Consider potential obstacles and devise strategies to overcome them. This plan will serve as a roadmap, guiding your efforts throughout each season. Monitor Progress and

Adjust as Needed:

Regularly review your progress toward each goal, making adjustments as necessary. Celebrate milestones and successes, no matter how small, to maintain motivation. If you encounter setbacks, reassess your strategies and make necessary changes to stay on track. The key is to remain flexible and committed to your overall financial objectives. Reflect and Plan for the Next Year: At the end of the year, reflect on your achievements and lessons learned. Evaluate the effectiveness of the 1-4-4 rule in helping you reach your financial goals. Use

this reflection to plan for the next year, refining your goals and strategies based on your experiences. The 1-4-4 rule offers a practical and structured approach to money management, emphasizing

and

ANTOINE THOMPSON

Caitlin

Twenty-eight years ago, on April 24, 1996, the NBA Board of Governors announced, “We Got Next,” and approved the concept of a Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). With eight teams leading the way one year later, the WNBA held its first game in June 1997, paving the way for women to showcase their talents on the hardwood while pursuing their dreams to become professional athletes in their beloved sport of basketball.

Since those early days, the league has had its ups and down, with more teams contributing to expansion efforts while other teams were forced to shutter their doors.

However, in recent months, the WNBA has reported unprecedented growth, finishing May with its highest attended opening month in 26 years and its mostwatched start of the season across all televised networks.

In terms of viewers, diversity has been tantamount for team owners with Black and Hispanic fans, as well as young girls, contributing to the newfound success of the WNBA.

So, one has to wonder, what’s all the controversy about the former Iowa standout, Caitlin Clark, who, after helping her alma mater break attendance records while dominating women’s college basketball, has continued to showcase her amazing talent as a member of the Indiana Fever. Some naysayers appear to resent the attention the small town White girl from the Midwest has garnered since being drafted. Others have even been vitriolic in their comments about Clark, suggesting that race has played a role in why she has become the darling of the press as dozens of other players – Black veterans in particular – have yet to receive similar accolades or notoriety.

While the situations are not the same, old school college basketball fans may recall the way Larry Bird (Indiana State) and Magic Johnson (Michigan State), who appeared in the 1978-79 NCAA men’s championship game, were pitted against one another, with Johnson’s team emerging victorious. Some fans seemed to line up on one side or the other based on the race of the two men. But in the end, both Johnson and Bird went on to successful careers in the NBA and they remained close friends.

Race notwithstanding, it would be the legendary NBA stars’ dominating skills as basketball players that helped the league see a significant increase in fan support and game attendance records.

For the moment, it looks like Clark may be just what the WNBA needs to continue its recent surge in attendance and fan support. And that’s a win-win situation for anyone who loves women’s basketball and wants to see it continue to grow and thrive– from teams made up of little girls who have yet to enter puberty, to women who make their living as professional basketball players.

It could be that controversy is part of a marketing strategy by the league’s owners. Or maybe, there are those, including players, who believe their criticism has merit.

Either way, it’s great to see women athletes receive the kind of attention, and hopefully financial compensation, that has eluded them for years.

(Reprinted from the Washington Informer)

General Harriet Tubman

(TriceEdneyWire) - I spent the last week in Canada with friends from all over the world.  They were so attentive to the lectures and the tour and they were eager to learn more about Harriet Tubman. We were attending a conference as guests of the National Policy Alliance—Canada.  The conference host and Executive Director of NPA—Canada was Honorable Allister Coward. He is a member of the World Conference of Mayors as I am. He was assisted by Kendra Fipps, Don Mathias, Donna Marshall and others. What a great learning experience! We were reminded of our need to teach our history, but we can’t teach it if we don’t know it.

Mayor Johnny Ford, Founder of the World Conference of Mayors, led our team to Canada, with Mayor Jimmie Gardner of Pritchard, AL and President of WCM; Rev.  Darryl Johnson of Mound Bayou, Ms; Hon. De’Keither Stamps (Public Service Commissioner for Central Mississippi District; Mayor Alberta C. McCrory of Hobson City, AL, leader of Historically Black Towns and Cities Alliance. Additionally, Dr. Abdoulaye Mbengue, member of the WCM as its Vice-President for Africa. All of us were conference speakers. Our team heard from many others. We had a tour to Buxton, Canada.  It was established in 1849 as a community for and by former African descent enslaved people who escaped to Canada to gain freedom. We had an opportunity

to visit museums, schools, and we were treated to a masterful drama about Harriet Tubman who left our nation, knowing what problems the Fugitive Slave Law would present for people like her. She decided to make her exit and take others with her.  If people were caught, they would’ve been severely punished—so Harriet was able to lead all who went with her safely by following her Underground Railroad.

All the speakers included Harriet’s triumphs, and added remarks about our working together as Mayor Ford always reminds us in the WCM and HBTSA about the benefits of working together to make progress in economic development and other areas for our communities. He reminds us often that “We Are together.”

That calls for working together and doing business with each other. Harriet had no fear leading others to freedom. After returning from Canada, she joined the Union Army as a nurse, cook, military scout and spy.  She was successful in all those areas. In view of all the efforts to set back our progress, we emphasized the importance

of telling our stories since when others tell them for us, they don’t often talk about what our ancestors went through to get us where we are today.  Our speakers emphasized the fact that if our children don’t know our story means we didn’t teach them. It’s our responsibility to teach young people our stories—because they don’t always hear them when we rely on others to tell a story they neither share nor live! Speakers who have museums emphasized the importance of our building museums and putting up memorials to teach what some of our ancestors did. Listen to some of the songs of our past, and learn their meaning. For starters are Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On”, James Brown’s “I’m Black and I’m Proud”, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes “Wake Up Everybody—No More Sleeping in Bed”, “Precious Lord” and so many more that have messages others can’t possibly know—especially DeSantis and Trump. They don’t know our stories. We’re still facing many challenges, but let’s learn more about ancestors like Harriet Tubman. Working together we can heal our broken places. Sit at the knee of our elders and ask them questions.  You will know why it’s mandatory for you to know our stories and vote in every election! (Dr. E. Faye Williams, President of The Dick Gregory Society and President Emerita of The National Congress of Black Women.)

The good news in 2024:

If you’re an ordinary American who goes to work to pay the bills or takes care of a loved one most days, it’s easy to feel down when you see the headlines about the 2024 election. Donald J. Trump has been convicted of 34 felonies for falsifying business records to cover up hush money he paid to bury an alleged affair with a porn star during the 2016 campaign, and the Republican Party continues to think he’s their best candidate. At the same time, President Biden is struggling to hold together his Democratic base as images of devastation in Gaza continue to dominate the news.

Stories of good news in politics seem few and far between.

But as a preacher, I learned a long time ago that you don’t get to the good news by looking away from problems; the good news is most often found right amid trouble. Yes, politics is a mess in 2024.

But, at the same time, several popular movements of everyday people struggling for economic justice have emerged that have the potential to reshape our politics. Against the backdrop of decades of rising inequality, low-wage worker movements have made huge strides since the pandemic, insisting that living wages are a moral issue for “essential workers” and seeing the largest increase in real wages in decades. Young people who’ve watched education and healthcare costs soar have come together to form effective coalitions for debt relief and won billions in loan forgiveness. Leveraging worker power, unions have waged effective strikes and negotiated new contracts while expanding to include new workers, especially in the South. Though they’re rarely in the headlines, these movements made up of millions of low-income workers have the potential to re-frame political debates for people who are weary of the status quo.

The good news in 2024 is that poor and working people are the new swing vote in US politics.

A report from Lake Research Partners demonstrates just how powerful this untapped coalition of low-income voters could be. Looking back at the past three Presidential elections, they found that in the seven states that will likely decide the 2024 election—Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, and Pennsylvania—low-income voter participation was an average of 12 percentage points lower than that of their higher-income voters. Using past averages to project 2024 turnout, this study measured the difference between the margin of victory in the last Trump/ Biden matchup and the number of eligible low-income voters who are likely not to vote. In Georgia, for example, Biden won by almost 12,000 votes in 2020. In North Carolina, he lost by 74,000. But in both states, more than a million eligible low-income voters will likely not vote in 2024 if past trends continue. That’s a huge potential swing vote, and the proportions are similar across the seven swing states in the study.

Since the 2024 Presidential race will likely be a rematch of 2020, this study used exit poll data from 2020 to ask who unlikely low-income voters would vote for if they did turn out in 2024. Of the 1.3 million likely nonvoters in Georgia, 746,000 would likely be Biden voters. Of the 1.1 million in North Carolina, some 594,000 would likely go for Biden. In short, Biden and other Democrats have a huge advantage among this demographic when they are able and willing to vote. The overwhelming takeaway of this study is that a relatively small increase

in low-income voter turnout in any of these seven states would dramatically increase Biden’s chances of winning a second term in the White House. The millions of low-income people who’ve risen as leaders in movements for economic justice over the past few years have the power to decide the outcome of the 2024 election.

Celinda Lake and her research partners are consultants for the Biden campaign, and there is a focus on the potential for his candidacy in 2024, but the potential power of this swing vote is much larger than one election or even one political party. Both Democrats and Republicans have ignored low-income voters for decades precisely because they are unlikely voters. But when the nonpartisan Poor People’s Campaign, which I serve as a co-chair, surveyed poor people to ask why they don’t vote, the number one reason they gave was, “No one speaks to us.”

This is why our campaign has committed to holding a Mass Poor People’s and Low-Wage Worker’s Assembly in Washington, DC, on June 29th. We are bringing the everyday people who’ve demanded better wages from their bosses to Washington and insist that Republicans, Democrats, and Independents make clear what they will do to address the needs of 135 million Americans who are living on the edge in the richest nation in the history of the world. And we are committing to go home to our communities and reach 15 million of the unlikely low-income voters with the message that they have power in 2024. If they show up, especially in seven key states, their votes will decide the outcome in 2024. When they do, they will be able to help shape the reconstruction of an American democracy that works for all of us.

(William J. Barber, II is President of Repairers of the Breach and author of the new White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy.)

Unsung hero of Civil Rights Movement

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “Through nonviolence, courage displaces fear; love transforms hate. Acceptance dissipates prejudice; hope ends despair. Peace dominates war; faith reconciles doubt. Mutual regard cancels enmity. Justice for all overthrows injustice. The redemptive community supersedes systems of gross social immorality.” – Rev. James Lawson History attributes the success of the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-20th Century to nonviolence. The stoicism and quiet dignity of the marchers, the Freedom Riders, the lunch counter sitters stood in stark contrast to the brutality of the segregationists. Scenes of the confrontation, beamed via television into America’s living rooms and splashed across newspaper pages, shocked our collective conscience and galvanized support for the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. No one can claim more credit for that hard-won success than Rev. James Lawson, who passed away last week at the age of 95.  He was a driving force behind most of the major civil rights action of the era, His seminars on non-violence steeled young demonstrators against the inhuman violence they were to experience.  He sought understanding and reconciliation with those who opposed him.

He also was a friend to the Urban League who frequently attended the Los Angeles affiliate’s annual Whitney M. Young Jr. Awards Gala. Lawson’s serene and disciplined courage is recounted in David Halberstam’s book on the Nashville Student Move-

ment, The Children: “ … he was enraged by Lawson’s coolness and he spat at him. Lawson looked at him and asked him for a handkerchief. The man, stunned, reached in his pocket and handed Lawson a handkerchief, and Lawson wiped the spit off himself as calmly as he could. Then he looked at the man’s jacket and started talking to him. Did he have a motorcycle or a hot-rod car? A motorcycle was the answer. Jim asked a technical question or two and the young man started explaining what he had done to customize his bike … In that brief frightening moment Jim had managed to find a subject which they both shared and had used it in a way that made each of them more human in the eyes of the other.”

His gentleness shrouded a fierce radicalism, which was instilled in him by his staunchly anti-racists parents. His minister father, a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, carried a pistol and taught his son to fight. But his mother, a Jamaican immigrant, was a pacifist.  When his mother scolded him for slapping a White boy who called him the n-word, he vowed never again to resort to violence. He was 10 years old. He stayed true to that vow when he

received his draft notice for the Korean War. As a candidate for the ministry, he was eligible for deferment, which he considered a “moral and ethical sellout.” He served 13 months in prison for refusing to serve.

He was on a mission in India, studying satyagraha—Mohandas Gandhi’s principles of nonviolent resistance –when he read a newspaper story about the Montgomery bus boycott.  “He began whooping, clapping, and dancing in joy,” according to Peter Drier’s The 100 Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame. “The photographs offered evidence that a nonviolent mass movement was taking hold back home. Moreover, the boycott movement was being led by a young Christian minister of about the same age as Lawson.” In preparation for joining the Civil Rights Movement in the south, Lawson began work on his master’s degree in theology at Oberlin College. But in 1956, Martin Luther King Jr., came to speak at Oberlin. The two bonded over Ghandi’s teachings, and King persuaded Lawson to join him immediately.  He transferred to Vanderbilt University in Nashville and began conducting workshops on nonviolent protest for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. His commitment to reconciliation extended even to the man convicted of King’s assassination, James Earl Ray, whom he ministered in prison. “The motivation was simple,” he said. “I did not see it as something apart from the love of God or the love of Jesus.”

Bishop William J. Barbor II Commentary

Black athletes are Black men and women first

(TriceEdneyWire.com)—During a recent Fox Sports pregame show appearance, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson was asked about his return to Birmingham, Alabama’s Rickwood Field, where he played 114 games in the minor leagues. His powerful response was a stark reminder of how sports, as a social institution, is not immune to the darkest side of bigotry. To appreciate Jackson’s response, we must remind ourselves of the simplicity of sports in general and the complexity of sports when it is intertwined with a community’s prevailing social order, defined as the tendency of a social institution to resist or regulate change.

Sports plays a significant role in shaping an individual’s personal growth. In addition to the benefits of physical fitness, sports are instrumental in building a person’s character, developing strategic and analytical thinking, leadership skills, risk-taking, becoming self-disciplined, and making personal sacrifices. With sports comes the type of social interaction where the concepts of teamwork, unity, brotherhood, and camaraderie are molded, shaped, and refined. It was the brotherhood and camaraderie from teammates that made it possible for Jackson, as a Black professional athlete, to endure the onslaught of racism in the Deep South. Jackson said, “I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. At the same time, had it not been for my White friends, had it not been for a White manager, and [Joe] Rudi, [Rollie] Fingers and [Dave] Duncan, and Lee Meyers, I would never have made it. I was too physically violent. I was ready to physically fight some—I would

have got killed here because I would have beat someone’s ass, and you would have saw me in an oak tree somewhere.” Society identifies and then defines individual athletes as either a sports hero or a sports villain. The reality facing the Black athlete, from the past, present, or future, extends from the fact that the color of a person’s skin can at any time be used to label and target them as a sports villain. Sports fans, through their racial hate, can turn an arena and stadium from a sports venue into a hostile and harsh environment of hate toward any Black athlete targeted as the villain. In 1983, Georgetown University basketball head coach John Thompson pulled his team off the court after Villanova fans displayed multiple racist signs targeting star player Patrick Ewing. Fans held up signs reading “Ewing is an Ape” and “Ewing can’t read,” while another student wore a T-shirt reading “Ewing Kant Read Dis.” One fan threw a banana peel on the court when Ewing was announced during the pregame introductions.

Bill Russell led the University of San Francisco to two NCAA championships and an Olympic gold medal before entering the NBA. During his 13-year playing career, Russell holds the record for the most NBA championships with 11 titles. Russell is widely considered to be one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He changed the league landscape through his defensive brilliance and lightning–quick passes that initiated the Celtics’ fast-break offense. The racism he endured would sometimes spill into his personal life when, in 1963, he returned home only to find it broken into and vandalized with racial slurs and feces on his bed. Such instances solidified Russell’s belief that his greatness and success as an athlete would never overcome societal racism. Regardless, he remained determined not to let the racial slurs deter his on-court performance. “That was never a factor. Fans all over the country were racist and obnoxious, some places more and some less, Russell said. “But I never permitted that to have an adverse effect on my playing.” Bill Russell and Patrick Ewing’s professional careers exemplify their character and resilience to excel as players despite the harsh racial adversity they faced. One can easily say that the verbal taunts they received motivated them to be better players on the court. The same athlete racially targeted as a sports villain by one group is also the hero by another group. Regardless, famed athletes have become a money-making commodity for educational institutions like Georgetown and Villanova. Like music, film, and television, sports are a business subset of the entertainment industry. Collegiate sports have become an economic vehicle for cities and educational institutions. One cannot forget the wealth, power, and prestige that top-skilled Black athletes bring to their colleges and universities. It is not by accident that in the two money-making sports, football and basketball, Black athletes have the highest concentration compared to golf, tennis, and baseball.   Black athletes are Black men and women first. The motivating factors behind those in the stands yelling racial taunts or carrying offensive signs come down to how they view a Black man or woman who they feel has something to offer that will benefit them personally or benefit the causes they publicly support. What type of reaction would Patrick Ewing receive from both schools if he switched school jerseys? Would the Villanova fans and students who yelled racist comments at Ewing do so if he wore a Villanova jersey? It’s the same Black man, but a different jersey. In both cases, the racist thoughts and beliefs about him are still there. When they are cheering the Black athlete representing their team, the racist feelings are still there, just suppressed for political correctness. (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.)

Disturbing Black generational divide on the demise of Affirmative Action?

The 1996 presidential election was expected to be a landslide victory for incumbent President Clinton due to the strength of the economy. Affirmative Action became a contentious national campaign issue after California’s ballot proposition 209 threatened to eliminate Affirmative Action in the state’s public sector.

Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole publicly endorsed proposition 209, while President Clinton acknowledged that Affirmative Action had flaws but should be “mended, not ended.”

Within Black America, the Affirmative Action debate evolved into a referendum on racism.

After the Civil Rights Movement’s victories of the 1960s, it was understood that racism in America would not go away overnight and that Affirmative Action would be required to transition Black Americans from segregation to integration; however, as race relations improved over time, Affirmative Action would become unnecessary.

In 1991, Orlando Patterson, a Black professor at Harvard, stated, “The sociological truths are that America, while still flawed in its race relations … is now the least racist White-majority society in the world; has a better record of legal protection of minorities than any other society, White or Black; offers more opportunities to a greater number of Black persons than any other society, including all those in Africa.”

At the midpoint of the 1990s, Americans who accepted Patterson’s conclusion began to question whether Affirmative Action was still needed, resulting in Proposition 209.

The majority of Black Americans rejected Patterson’s “sociological truth.” They claimed that improved race relations had nothing to do with the persistence of systemic racism in America, concluding that Affirmative Action would always be required.

Shelby Steele, a Black intellectual and Affirmative Action opponent, believed that many Black proponents of Affirma-

tive Action exaggerated systemic racism in order to preserve the benefits of racial preferences. Steele feared that instilling this false perception of American racism in the next generation of Black Americans would lead them to prioritize victimization in their cultural and political identities, a mindset that is more difficult to overcome than racism itself.

On election day in 1996, 55 percent of California voters supported Ballot Proposition 209. This marked the end of Affirmative Action in California’s public sector.

Two days before Election Day, the San Francisco Examiner released the findings of a poll of “Whites and minorities” who lived in mostly minority communities in California. The majority of both groups agreed that Affirmative Action was still required, but they preferred that career promotion and college admission be based on merit rather than race or gender preferences. Even though Proposition 209 banned Affirmative Action in California, the poll reflected the national attitude, particularly among Black Americans, that Affirmative Action was still necessary to overcome systemic racism.

Steele warned: “If my benefits come to me primarily as a Black and not as an American, then the effect over time is to undermine common society—the common culture and democracy of America. I, as a Black person, don’t identify with America— America is my enemy. This kind of thinking causes me not to move into the American mainstream. Which correspondingly causes me to fall farther and farther behind …

That is the tragedy of victimization.” Steele feared the inevitable, but did he underestimate the next generation? In 1997, a Time/CNN poll asked Black and White teenagers whether racism was a major problem in America; both said yes. However, when asked if racism was a significant issue in their daily lives, 89 percent of Black teenagers responded that it was either a minor issue or not a problem at all. In the same poll, nearly twice as many Black teenagers as White teenagers believed that “failure to take advantage of available opportunities” was a more serious issue than racism. Apparently, these Black teenagers did not embrace victimization.

Let’s skip ahead to the present.

In 2023, the United States Supreme Court overturned Affirmative Action programs in college admissions. The Court concluded that these programs violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause, which prevents government entities from discriminating based on race.

Charlene Cromwell, Senior Fellow at the Center for Responsible Lending, recently wrote, “While many might presume widespread unity in Black America over the Supreme Court ruling, a survey analysis by Gallup’s Center on Black Voices published earlier this year shows a distinct and disturbing generational divide on Affirmative Action … Numerically, 56 percent of Black adults aged 40 and older mostly view the decision negatively. But among younger Black adults, aged 18 to 39, the Affirmative Action reversal is viewed positively by 62 percent. Moreover, many younger Blacks anticipated the decision would have no impact at all on their education and futures.” This is not a disturbing generational difference, as Cromwell claims; rather, it is a generational embrace of Black agency over Black victimization.

Shelby Steele would be pleased that the “tragedy of victimization” did not unfold as he predicted.

Why ‘we’ must support MoKa at Soho and ASALH 2024

The “We” means Black people in Pittsburgh, in Allegheny County, and in the US House of Representatives Pennsylvania District 12.

Here we speak to this specific population.

Of course, Moka at Soho and ASALH 2024 attract support from many other diverse sources beyond the local African American community.

We recognize that not all Black folks in the local area support the arts. This polemic is not addressed to them.

Why must local back folk support MoKa at Soho, you ask? Because, it is, in my opinion, an outstanding local African diaspora arts gallery. It features authentic African art and merchandise, and very important photos and information of Pittsburgh’s Black cultural history are posted on the walls.

Very important, the gallery is a very warm, old school, community institution.

Errol Mobuto Reynolds and Charlotte Ka are the driving force and co-proprietors of the galley.

Brother Mobuto is an outstanding multi-media artist, with priceless knowledge of the city’s Black arts history. Sister Ka is an outstanding multi-media visual artist with priceless knowledge of Black arts history.

You must visit the gallery. But first, do your homework. Visit on line MoKa at Soho in Pittsburgh. Bother Mobotu and Sister Ka transformed an abandon structure into a vibrant four-story testament to Black culture. It is located at Centre Avenue and SoHo Street in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, and most appropriate it sits directly facing Pittsburgh’s Weil Pre-5 public school.

The institution is daily confirmation of the classic artistic excellence and the historic struggles of Black people.

This is one of the very important reasons

Most African Americans know that the term “Jim Crow” represented the personification of segregation in America following Reconstruction as a means of reuniting a post Civil War America. The Jim Crow segregation laws represented the American version of the “separate but equal” doctrine of the then U.S. Supreme Court’s response to Plessy vs. Ferguson Decision which created “separate but equal” for the races in America.

The Conservative Right, which is manifesting itself in election officials of the Republican Party and now the United States Supreme Court itself, would seek to roll back all social gains made since the Brown Decision of 1954, which in effect reversed the “separate but equal” Jim Crow doctrine which was further outlawed with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1965.

This law and the Voting Rights Act gave new meaning to the “Equal Protection Clause” of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. What we see today in the halls of the United States Congress is

J. Pharoah Doss Check It Out Fred Logan

while the Black community must support local Black art. Local African American professionals, attorneys, educators, elected officials, etc. are obligated to support Black art. For them to do otherwise is, in the words of Lady Day, “much worse than just bad.”

Equally important, during a Kuumba Trust lecture some years ago, the late Dr. Elizabeth Cattlet, a reigning master of African American art spoke. She said Black people are obligated to bring Black youth to programs and events that feature Black art. It exposes them to what Black people have accomplished and what they must strive to accomplish.

ASALH 2024 is such an occasion. ASALH 2024 is the 109th Annual Conference of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History.

This year, the theme is “African Americans and the Arts’” It will be held in Pittsburgh September 25-29.

Again, do your homework. Visit on line the ASALH website for the official information on the conference.

Our obligations to support ASALH 2024 reach infinity. The local Black community must bring Black youth to ASALH 2024, particularly to counter the youth consumer market industry’s 24/7 bombardment of youth with negative life styles that at minimum must reap hundreds of billions of dollars annually.

a Conservative Right Republican movement that no longer honors the Constitution nor the Oath of Office these people took when they were sworn into office.

What we see at all levels of State government where members of this Conservative Right hold office or positions of influence, is an effort to either reverse, abolish or gut any laws or public policies that appear to speak to the rights of individuals who are not a part of the Conservative Right. These changes, if successful, will ultimately lead to the restoration of “Jim Crow” living conditions, especially for people of color and anyone who appears to have rights that are in conflict with the Conservative Right. Such a government will eliminate the concept of “due process.”

Without question, African American art is a dominant force in world culture. That is what makes Black art so contentious in the highest reaches of the cultural industry, in academia, on the street and among Black artists themselves. Generations ago, Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois argued that Black art must be artistic and it must be political in the service of the struggles of Black people. Du Bois said he didn’t give a damn about art for art’s sake. The late renowned artist and political activist Amiri Baraka said Howard’s legendry scholar and poet Dr. Sterling Brown told his students that in Black music, field songs, gospel, jazz, Rhythm and Blues… is a record of Black life in this country. Many Black artists and scholars vehemently reject this argument. They argue the individual not the community is the primary source for Black artists. This very important Black dichotomy is still with us today. In Pittsburgh, just below the surface are some festering long standing issues related to the relationship between local Black arts programs and the Black community at large. This may not be addressed in the workshops, lectures, or other presentations at the 2024 conference. But hopefully it will be discussed off-the-record during lunch breaks, in the hall ways and continued long after in the local Black community. Pittsburgh Black arts neophyte Fred Logan volunteered for the 2004 and 2011 ASALH conferences in Pittsburgh. In both instances my expectations were very, very high. I expected the Sun and the Moon. But in both instances I was very, very wrong. ASALH 2004 and ASALH 2011 far exceeded, in every respect, my grandest expectations.

These actions will lead us closer to the goals of Project 2025, which is the Blueprint for the next conservative President of the United States. What can those of us who see what is coming and disagree with the new order the Conservative Right has in mind, do? We can vote like never before. We can register in such numbers and wait in such long lines and vote by mail and early ballot, that the ground swell of our numbers will out vote the Conservative Right and perhaps even vote some, if not most, of them out of office. We can make sure that we get Jury Duty for the trials of those Fake Electorates and that we watch very closely the selection of people for the Electoral College in all States. We can treat every state as a battleground state and make no assumptions. We can remember what Thomas Jefferson spoke when he said, “Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Freedom.”

Where do you stand?

(Dr. John E. Warren is Publisher, San Diego Voice & Viewpoint Newspaper)

ANNOUNCEMENTS Public Notice

CONDITIONS OF SALE

Public Notice

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 7 4 5 2 7 5

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 DWELL-

ING, 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

DEBT $25,083.66

CLASSIFIEDS GET RESULTS! 5

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

15JULY24

DEFENDANT(S) SUSAN D. JANOCKO; CLIFFORD

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,

PLAINTIFF(S) 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:

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.

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

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

erected thereon a dwelling be-

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 DWELL-

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

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 COMMERCIAL 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

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

46JULY24

PLAINTIFF(S) North Allegheny School District VS. DEFENDANT(S)

47JULY24

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.

AND LOT NUMBER 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)

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

62JULY24

DEFENDANT(S): ERIN SWEENEY ************ 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

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

74JULY24 DEFENDANT(S): STEVEN SIEMON AKA STEVEN E. SIEMON ************ CASE NO.: MG-23-000703 ************ DEBT: $65,934.63

NAME OF ATTORNEY(S) CHRISTINE L. GRAHAM, ESQUIRE ****************************** ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY(S) McCABE, WEISBERG & CONWAY, LLC 216HADDON AVENUE, SUITE201 WESTMONT, NJ 08108

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

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

75JULY24

DEFENDANT(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:

the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, City of McKeesportWard 7:

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:

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

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

15205. 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:

TELEPHONE NUMBER: (215) 579-7700

SHORT DESCRIPTION: In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, County of Allegheny, the 2nd Ward of the City of Clairton: HAVING ERECTED THEREON A THREE STORY FRAME BUILDING BEING

$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.

Having erected 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 ***********************************

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

DESCRIPTION:

OF PENNSYLVANIA, COUNTY OF ALLEGHENY, TOWN-

OF WEST DEER HAVING AGRICULTURAL LAND KNOWN AND NUMBERED AS

PLUMMER

$28,620.70

12-P-141.

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 DWELL-

ING 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.

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 SIN-

GLE-FAMILY DWELLING KNOWN AS 4132 BATTLE RIDGE ROAD, McDONALD, PA 15057, DEED BOOK VOLUME 16335, PAGE 43, BLOCK & LOT NO. 402-D-6.

LEGAL ADVERTISING

Articles of Incorporation

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that an LLC corporation is to be or has been converted & incorporated under the Business Corporation Law of 1988, approved December 21, 1988, P.L. 1444, No. 177, effective October 1, 1989, as amended. The name of the corporation is STATZONE INC. In Allegheny County and has been delivered to the Secretary of State for filing on June 7, 2024.

LEGAL ADVERTISING Legal Notices

Estate of CAROLYN PATRICIA JACKSON STANFIELD, A/K/A CAROLYN P. STANFIELD, A/K/A C. PATRICIA STANFIELD Case No. 3884 of 2024. Robin L. Jackson appointed Executrix by Order dated June 13, 2024. Peter B. Lewis,Counsel, Neighborhood Legal Services, 928 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Estate of JANET L. HARRIS , deceased of Pittsburgh, PA, No. 03885 of 2024. Laura L. Reid, 1018 Valewood Rd, Towson, MD 21286 Executrix, or to c/o Philip J. Scolieri, Esquire, Scolieri Beam Law Group, P.C. Attys. 1207 Fifth Avenue, Suite 200 Bldg., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15219

Estate of GERALDINE A. ANTONIAZZI deceased of Bethel Park, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, No. 02-24-03925. Joan A. Greene, Executor, 271 Voss Road, Bethel Park, PA 15102 or to TODD A. FULLER, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC., 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017

Estate of WILLIAM J. MUELLER, deceased of Bridgeville, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, No. 02-24-03923. Robert W. Mueller, Executor, 2555 Chapelwood Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15241 or to TODD A. FULLER, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC., 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017

Estate of GERALD J. URIAH, Deceased of Carnegie, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Estate No. 02-24-03774, Candace L. Rave, Executor, 169 Union Street, Apt. B or to ROBIN L. RARIE, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC. 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017

Estate of CHRISTINA MARGARET TACKA

A/K/A M. CHRISTINA TACKA, Deceased of Bethel Park, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, Estate No. 02-24-03776, Chester L. Tacka, Executor, 117 Slatewood Court, Bethel Park, PA 15102 or to ROBIN L. RARIE, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC., 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017

Estate of MR. JEROLD STUART PEARL A/K/A JERRY S. PEARL, Deceased of 1230 East Avenue, Moon Township, PA, 15108, Estate No. 02-24-03517, Ms. Mary Christine, Executrix, c/o Max C. Feldman, Esquire and the Law Office of Max C. Feldman, 1322 Fifth Avenue, Corapolis, PA, 15108

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 FRANCINE R. HYDE, Deceased of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Estate No. 02-24-03775, Michele Nigliazzo, Executor, 1037 Brookline Boulevard, Apt.2, Pittsburgh, PA 15226 or to ROBIN L. RARIE, Atty; BRENLOVE & FULLER, LLC. 401 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017

ANNOUNCEMENTS

TOWNSHIP OF WILKINS PUBLIC NOTICE OF INTENT TO ADOPT

PROPOSED ORDINANCE NUMBERS 1125 AND 1126

The Wilkins Township Board of Commissioners will consider adoption of the following ordinances at a public meeting to be held on the 15th day of July 2024 at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building, 110 Peffer Road, Wilkins Township, Pennsylvania. The complete text of the Ordinance is on file and may be inspected in the Office of the Township Secretary at the aforesaid Municipal Building during normal business hours.

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

PROPOSED ORDINANCE #1125 TITLE

AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWNSHIP OF WILKINS, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AMENDING THE CODIFIED BOOK OF ORDINANCES, CHAPTER 430, ARTICLE II, SECTION 430-18, PARKING PROHIBITIONS AT ALL TIMES, TO CREATE ADDITIONAL NO PARING ZONES AND TO AMEND AN EXISTING NO PARKING ZONE

SUMMARY

The Ordinance prohibits parking on the west side of Cline Street from Greensburg Pike to the dead-end and amends the parking prohibition on Greensburg Pike.

PROPOSED ORDINANCE #1126 TITLE

AN ORDINANCE OF THE TOWNSHIP OF WILKINS, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AMENDING ORDINANCE 955, ESTABLISHING THE COMPENSATION FOR TOWNSHIP COMMISSIONERS TAKING OFFICE IN JANUARY 2006 AND THEREAFTER, SECTION 1, TO AMEND THE TIMING OF PAYMENT INSTALLMENTS FROM TWELVE PER ANNUM TO FOUR PER ANNUM

SUMMARY

The Ordinance changes the payment frequency of the stipend to Commissioners from monthly to quarterly.

ANNOUNCEMENTS Meetings

NOTICE OF MEETING DATE CHANGE

“The regular meeting of the Wilkins Township Board of Commissioners originally scheduled for July 8, 2024, has been changed. The meeting shall be held on Monday, July 15, 2024 beginning at 7:00 PM at the Municipal Building, 110 Peffer Road, Turtle Creek, PA 15145.”

Sincerely, TOWNSHIP OF WILKINS

LEGAL ADVERTISING Bids/Proposals

INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB)

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that specifications and proposal forms for furnishing all labor and materials and professional consulting and/ or construction services for the following project(s) entitled:

POWER Campus RenovationsPhase III 7436 McClure Ave, Swissvale, PA 15218

This project consists of the following trades/ supplies: Selective Demolition Concrete Sidewalks Metals Architectural Wood Casework Doors/Frames/Hardware Overhead Coiling Doors Carpentry/Drywall/Acoustical Ceilings Flooring/Painting Signage/Bathroom Accessories Window Shades Fire Protection Plumbing HVAC Electrical/Communications/Fire Alarm

Bid documents may be obtained from Sota Construction Services, Inc. by contacting TJ Toomey at ttoomey@sotaconstruction.com or calling 412-925-0040. ALL BIDS WILL BE RECEIVED until 2:00 PM on July 18, 2024 at the offices of Sota Construction Services, Inc., 80 Union Ave. Pittsburgh, PA 15202. Bids will be privately opened there after.

Bids must be on standard proposal forms in the manner therein described in the bid documents and be enclosed in a sealed envelope, bearing the name and address of the bidder on the outside, addressed to the Sota Construction Services, Inc. and marked with the project name. There will be a site walk thru on July 3rd, 2024, at 12:00 PM to review the existing building conditions.

“Compliance is required with the Davis-Bacon Act and other Federal Labor Standard Provisions; Title VI and other applicable provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Department of Labor Equal Opportunity Clause (41 CFR 60- 1.4); Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974; Executive Order 11625 (Utilization of Minority Business Enterprise); Executive Order 12138 (Utilization of Female Business Enterprise); in compliance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the Allegheny County MBEIWBE Program enacted July, 1981, which sets forth goals of 13 percent Minority and 2 percent Female Business Enterprise; and the Allegheny County Ordinance #6867-12, setting forth goals of 5 percent Veteran-Owned Small Businesses. Further, notice is hereby given that this is a Section 3 Project under the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, (as amended) and must to the greatest extent feasible, utilize lower income residents for employment and training opportunities and Section 3 Business concerns and all contracts and subcontracts for this project shall contain the “Section 3 Clause” as set forth in 24 CFR, Part 135.38.

CLASSIFIEDS

ALLIES & ROSS MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) FOR SPECIAL INSPECTIONS FOR THE NORTHVIEW MIDRISE ARMDC RFP #2024-42

Allies & Ross Management and Development Corporation (ARMDC)

hereby requests proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s):

Request for Proposals (RFP) –Special Inspections for the Northview Midrise

RFP documents will be available no later than June 24, 2024. Copies of RFP documents are not available for in-person pickup. Firms interested in responding may obtain a copy of the RFP documents from the Business Opportunities Section of the HACP Website, www.hacp.org. Prospective Offerors may register as vendors on the website and download the documents free of charge.

A pre-submission meeting via audio conference will be held via Zoom on July 18, 2024, at 9:00 A.M. Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88932845576?pwd=NiR35m3ZbEcoP-

grAaDU7rquURFrzPn.1

Meeting ID: 889 3284 5576 Passcode: 315576

The deadline for the final submission of written questions is August 1, 2024, at 9:00 A.M.

The deadline for submission of proposals is August 8, 2024, at 9:00 A.M. Proposals must be sent to:

Mr. James Harris – Chief Contracting Officer Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh Procurement Department 412 Boulevard of the Allies, 6th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15219

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh will only be accepting physical proposals dropped off in person from 8:00 AM until the closing of 9:00 AM on August 8, 2024. Proposals may still be submitted electronically at the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/request/kc0mTA7Qh1jC6UFGRBvd and can still be mailed via USPS at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 412 Boulevard of the Allies, 6th floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH STRONGLY ENCOURAGES CERTIFIED MINORITY-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES AND WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS ENTERPRISES TO RESPOND TO THIS SOLICITATION.

Caster D. Binion, President & CEO Allies & Ross Management and Development Corporation

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

CITY OF PITTSBURGH

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT & BUDGET

ADVERTISEMENT

Separate and sealed Bid Proposals will be received electronically starting on Wednesday, June 26th, 2024 for: 2024-IFB-190 (Project ID) – Installation of Sof Surfaces CD Information on solicitations is available on the City of Pittsburgh website: http://purchasing.pittsburghpa.gov

Bid proposals are requested on behalf of the City of Pittsburgh. All bids must be submitted via the above website and all required documents must be provided or the bid proposal may be considered non-responsive. The contractor will be required to comply with all applicable Equal Employment Opportunity requirements for Federally Assisted construction contracts. The contractor must assure that employees and applicants for employment are not discriminated against because of their race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Attention is called to Executive Order 11246, to Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, 12 U.S.C. 1701U, and to the Section 3 Clause and Regulations set forth in 24 CFR, Part 135.

The Contractor will be required to comply with the following laws, rules and regulations: All provisions of US Executive Order 11246 of September 24, 1965, as amended by US Executive Order 11375 and as supplemented in US Department of Labor Regulations (41 CFR, Part 60), and of the rules, regulations, and relevant orders of the US Secretary of Labor. Contractor shall comply with all applicable standards, orders, or requirements issued of the Clean Air Act (42 USC 1857 et. seq.), Section 508 of the Clean Water Act (33 USC 1368), Executive Order 11738, and Environmental Protection Agency regulations (40 CFR, Part 15). Contractor shall comply with the Davis-Bacon Act the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. 276a to 276a-7) as supplemented by Department of Labor regulations (29 CFR part 5).

Procedures for compliance to these acts shall be as follows:

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

Notice of Requirement for Affirmative Action to Ensure Equal Employment Opportunity (Executive Order 11246): Bidder’s attention is called to the “Equal Opportunity Clause” and the “Standard Federal Equal Employment Specifications” set forth in 41 CFR Public Contracts and Property Management Part 60-4.3 Equal Opportunity Clauses.

Goals for minority participation: 18%

Goals for female participation: 7%

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

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

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

The Proposers will be required to submit the package of certifications included with the contract documents relating to Equal Employment Opportunity. Vendors submitting responses on federally funded projects must register on SAM.gov and provide proof of registration.

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

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

BEN AVON BOROUGH

DOCUMENT 001113 - ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS

1.1 PROJECT INFORMATION

A. Notice to Bidders: Qualified Bidders to submit bids for Project as described in this Document and in accordance with the Instructions to Bidders.

1. Regulatory Requirements: Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Keystone Communities Program Grant & Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Commonwealth Financing Authority Local share Account Grant is to govern submittal, opening, and award of bids.

2. Addition Requirements:

a. Nondiscrimination / Sexual Harassment Clause, included in exhibits

b. Payment and Performance Bonds, as noted in specifications and contract

c. Insurance, as noted in specifications and contract

d. Pennsylvania Prevailing Wage Rates, included in exhibits 1) (Act No. 442 of 1961, P. L. 987, amended by Act 342 of 1963, P.L. 653) are applicable to this job.

2) This regulation and the general prevailing minimum wage rates, as determined by the Secretary of Labor and Industry, which shall be paid for each craft or classification of all workers needed to perform the contract during the anticipated term, therefore, in the locality in which public work performed, are made part of this specification. Prevailing Rates for this project can be obtained from the Labor and Industry website.

B. Project Identification: Ben Avon Borough Building LULA Elevator

Addition

1. Project Location: 7101 Church Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15202

C. Owner: Ben Avon Borough, 7101 Church Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15202

1. Owner ’s Representative: Christen Cieslak Consulting, LLC

D. Architect: Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff + Goettel Architects

E. Project Description: Project consists of a LULA elevator addition to an existing building.

1. Project cost range is anticipated to be under $500,000.

F. Construction Contract: Bids will be received for the following Work:

1. General contract (all trades).

1.2 BID SUBMITTAL AND OPENING

A. Bid Submittal, Electronic: Owner will receive electronically submitted bids until the Bid time and date via web-based bidding management software. Owner will consider bids prepared in compliance with the Instructions to Bidders and delivered as follows:

1. Bid Date: Thursday, July 11

2. Bid Time: Not later than 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

3. Web-Based Bidding Management Software: https://pennbid.net/

1.3 BID SECURITY

A. Submit bid security with each Bid in the stipulated form and in the amount identified in the Instructions to Bidders.

1.4 PREBID MEETING

A. Prebid Meeting: See Document 002513 “Prebid Meetings.”

1.5 BIDDING DOCUMENTS

A. Bidding Documents, Electronic: Obtain access after June 6 by contacting https://pennbid.net/ Online access will be provided to all registered Bidders and sub-bidders and suppliers.

1.6 TIME OF COMPLETION

A. By submitting a Bid, Bidder represents that Bidder will begin the Work on receipt of the Notice to Proceed and will complete the Work within the Contract Time indicated in the Bidding Documents.

1.7 BIDDER’S QUALIFICATIONS

A. Licenses: Bidders must be properly licensed under the laws governing their respective trades.

B. Insurance and Bonds: A Performance Bond, separate Labor and Material Payment Bond, and insurance in a form acceptable to Owner will be required of the successful Bidder.

C. Contractor’s Qualification Statement: A completed AIA Document A305, “Contractor’s Qualification Statement,” with all exhibits is required to be submitted with the Bid.

D. Owner may make such investigations as he deems necessary to determine the ability of the bidder to perform the work, and bidder shall furnish to Owner all such information and data for this purpose as the Owner request. Owner reserves the right to reject any bid if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of, such bidder fails to satisfy the Owner that such bidder is reputable, ethical and is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the Agreement, and to complete the work contemplated therein. As a minimum, the bidder is required to furnish.

ALLIES & ROSS MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) FOR DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL & ADVISORY SERVICES

RFP #2024-41

Allies & Ross Management and Development Corporation (ARMDC) hereby requests proposals from qualified Firms or Individuals capable of providing the following service(s): Request for Proposals (RFP) –Development Professional & Advisory Services RFP documents will be available on or about June 10, 2024. Copies of RFP documents are not available for in-person pickup. Firms interested in responding may obtain a copy of the RFP documents from the Business Opportunities Section of the HACP Website, www.hacp.org. Prospective Offerors may register as vendors on the website and download the documents free of charge.

A pre-submission meeting via audio conference will be held via Zoom on July 2, 2024 at 9:00 A.M Zoom Link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86497890848?pwd=Y8KvC

Q23JyZhT2hAMMJnZFbb3KOnQ4.1

Meeting ID: 864 9789 0848 Passcode: 372111

The deadline for the final submission of written questions is July 18, 2024, at 9:00 A.M. The deadline for submission of proposals is July 25, 2024, at 9:00 A.M. Proposals must be sent to:

Mr. James Harris – General Counsel/Chief Contracting Officer Procurement Department, Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh 412 Boulevard of the Allies, 6th Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15219

The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh will only be accepting physical proposals dropped off in person from 8:00 AM until the closing of 9:00 AM on July 18, 2024. Proposals may still be submitted electronically at the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/pq3j4k9k9nuqa wqbv2nyr/AFQBfUsbYjd90vSKj86wK1w?rlkey=wa1gzzegn84zkt7ia d4y778k3&st=7fhwfx9a&dl=0 and can still be mailed via USPS at which time they will be Time and Date Stamped at 412 Boulevard of the Allies Lobby, 6th Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF PITTSBURGH STRONGLY ENCOURAGES CERTIFIED MINORITY-OWNED

us online!

DIRECTOR – CUSTOMER LOYALTY

#1 Cochran Buick GMC, Inc. has one opening for Director – Customer Loyalty in Pittsburgh, PA to work closely with management & our growing Marketing & Brand team & leverage data science to identify customer needs & create customer segments to effectively grow revenue. Provide advice & guidance on CRM strategy that successfully engages & retains customers from purchase to repurchase. Collaborate w/VP & Chief Brand Officer in defining & establishing a vision, roadmaps, strategic plans, & procedures for creation & development of effective customer loyalty & engagement program using customer research & projected business impact. Participate in research & focus groups, conduct data analysis, & discern common themes & patterns within available customer feedback to fully understand the customer’s voice, & design, develop, & execute customer loyalty & engagement strategies. Advise management & staff in the development & execution of overall customer loyalty program, including personalization strategies, customer feedback tools, triggered user journeys, communications cadence, & efficient, user-friendly call routing protocols. Ensure program success & efficiency by partnering in resource discussions, training, content development, scripting, & survey creation. Local telecommuting allowed up to 2 days per week. Reqs: Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Commerce or related field. Must have 5 years exp. managing loyalty programs, CRM strategies, data segmentation, marketing automation & customer lifecycle journeys. Must be knowledgeable of: (1) Applying data science to measure & focus on business KPIs to effectively prioritize projects based on potential business impact; (2) Digital deployment of loyalty programs, including mobile app-based programs; & (3) Agile development practices, user experience & actionable customer needs statements. Send resumes to: Ms. Courtney Halle at challe@cochran.com with job title Director – Customer Loyalty in subject line.

American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, seeks a Senior Linux Engineer

This is a fully remote position, and the employee can work from anywhere in the United States to be responsible for the analysis, design, engineering, testing, documentation, implementation, maintenance, operation and functionality for over 600 Red hat Linux systems and related tools, as well as the support of business system users. Apply at https://aeo.jobs with cover letter, resumé and salary requirements.

SOFTWARE ENGINEER, DATA ENGINEERING

Duolingo, Inc. has multiple openings for Software Engineer, Data Engineering in Pittsburgh, PA to perform following duties: (i) Under supervision develop end-to-end delivery of data engineering products, from architecture & design to implementation to maintenance & growth; (ii) Collaborate across internal business teams & cross-functional stakeholders to design & develop high-quality software & architectures for data eng.; (iii) Partner w/other engineers to build scalable data eng. processing systems; (iv) Support technical strategy, by breaking problems into deliverable components, & working closely w/engineering teams; (v) Develop &/or implement next-generation data-driven models & algorithms; (vi) Architect & deploy robust data eng. infrastructure that can support training, evaluation, deployment, & monitoring; (vii) Build & deploy data eng. infrastructure on cloud services: (viii) Write & present summaries of data eng. analysis of features to relevant stakeholders; (ix) Submit code to be reviewed by superiors, & review coding of peers & contractors; & (x) Submit finished projects to quality assurance team.Reqs: Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, Statistics, Language Technology, Computer Science or Computer Science related field. Must have knowledge of (i) Statistical techniques or theory; (ii) Probability distributions; (iii) Algorithms; (iv) Data Analysis and (v) Programming languages (Python or Java). Email resume to: jobs@duolingo.com with Job No. 960 and title “Software Engineer, Data Engineering” in subject line.

Evoqua Water Technologies LLC’s Pittsburgh, PA, office seeks Expert Field Service Technicians (multiple openings) to initiate, control, and execute field service activities at customer sites in a safe and efficient manner. This is a fully remote position with a heavy focus on project on-site duties, and the employee can work from anywhere in the United States when not required on site during construction activities. Apply at https://careers.evoqua.com, #34762.

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Pittsburgh Regional Transit is seeking an Administrative Assistant to the Chief Financial Officer to be responsible for the management and implementation of various administrative processes and programs that directly impact the Finance Department’s internal business processes for the Port Authority of Allegheny County d/b/a Pittsburgh Regional Transit (PRT). The position performs duties that encompass a wide variety of PRT programs and a range of issues dealing including daily administrative duties and departmental activities, and professional communication. Duties can include administrative support such as typing and formatting a variety of documents, receiving, and directing phone calls, scheduling appointments, and arranging meetings and travel, processing mail and timesheets for the division staff and ordering supplies. The position reports directly to the Chief Financial Officer and involves maintaining a high degree of confidentiality, trust, and relationship building.

Essential Functions:

• Prepare documentary materials for use and/or approval by the Finance Division in appearances before community groups, committees, State and local partners, and interagency meetings.

• Schedules appointments and plans for meetings, conferences, and travel; secures approval of dates and times with appropriate individuals for the division chief and associated division staff.

• Types, formats, edits, and maintains reports, correspondences, memorandums, administrative and policy documents for Chief Financial Officer and associated division staff.

• Opens, logs and routes incoming division chief’s mail; forwards outgoing division chief’s mail, including completion of internal hand deliveries and coordination with delivery services of external hand deliveries.

• Processes and/or prepares confidential documents.

• Participate in, track, and carry out a variety of assignments and projects that are usually of a complex nature cutting across several departments for PRT. You will be required to have foundational knowledge about PRT and its interrelationship with the Department of Transportation, state, and local transportation agencies.

Job requirements include:

• Associates Degree in Business Administration, public administration, or related field from an accredited school. Related experience may substitute for education on a yearfor-year basis.

• Ideal candidate will possess a minimum of three (3) years of experience leading key organizational activities, managing multiple tasks, and liaising coordinated activities directly for a member of a senior leadership team or executive within a company or business.

• Ability to identify problem areas and evaluate, recommend, and implement solutions to resolve complex organizational challenges.

• Ability to establish cooperative relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills; strong listening skills.

• Strong presentation skills and the ability to communicate with diverse set of stakeholders.

• Ability to work well without close supervision and demonstrate initiative.

• Ability to manage multiple tasks.

• Demonstrated ability in Windows, Word, and Excel.

Preferred attributes:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, public administration, or related field from an accredited school.

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

Missy Ramsey Employment Department 345 Sixth Avenue, 3rd Floor Pittsburgh, PA 15222-2527 MRamsey@RidePRT.org EOE

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