Aki Witherspoon and Chris Winston, both 20, live in transitional housing provided by the nonprofit Familylinks. They submitted their applications for low-income public housing a few days before the list closed. (Photo by Alexandra Kanik / PublicSource) by Halle Stockton PublicSource Nearly 23,000 people live in limbo as they wait for public housing in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County.
MARSHA JONES, CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER AT PNC At a press conference on May 23, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald joined community and corporate leaders to announce a new initiative to increase economic opportunities for minorities in Pittsburgh. The initiative will specifically target the African-American population, which exhibits the greatest disparities in employment and wealth in the Pittsburgh region.
RAYCO 'WAR' SAUNDERS (Courier Photo/William McBride) The shooting death of a 1-year-old boy at an East Hills cookout has left many in the community feeling outraged and fed up with the Black-on-Black violence. Early Tuesday evening, two females were injured and their nephew was killed when three men got out of a vehicle and opened fire into a crowd at a cookout in the 2300 block of East Hills Drive. The toddler, who has been identified as Marcus White Jr., 19 months, was taken to Children’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The two females, whose names still have not been released, were taken to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, one, 19 years old, was listed in stable condition, the second, 20 years old with gunshot wounds to the chest and back, has been listed in critical condition. The women had taken White to the cookout. “My grandson is gone and he’s not coming back,” said Camille Smith, White’s grandmother. “He was an innocent baby. It was senseless.”
RICH FITZGERALD Saying he wants to have more open lines of communication, particularly on issues pertaining to the African-American community, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, his Chief of Staff Jennifer Liptak and County Manager William McKain joined the New Pittsburgh Courier editorial board for the first of what he said could be quarterly meetings.
CHERYL HURT About 60 concerned Clairton residents, business owners and city officials convened for a town hall meeting on May 16 in an effort to keep the city's only bank—a PNC located at 571 Miller Avenue—open. “We are all here because we're devastated that PNC is closing. The only bank we have is leaving Clairton," said Cheryl Hurt, president of the Community Economic Development Corporation of Clairton and moderator of the meeting. The bank is set to close on Aug. 16.
ULISH CARTER The Rooney Rule, can it work in the corporate and nonprofit world of Pittsburgh and beyond? According to the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh “State of Black Pittsburgh” reports every year Blacks are way behind Whites in just about every aspect of progress, with employment and education being the biggies. In an effort to remedy this problem Tim Stevens, head of B-PEP and County Executive Rich Fitzgerald pulled together a meeting with several of the corporations, and non-profits to discuss how they can improve the state of Black Pittsburghers with the Rooney Rule.
Thanks to a push from state Rep. Ed Gainey, D-East Liberty, Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald announced the creation of a Public Health Commission on Preventing Violence and Promoting Community Mental Health.
ALEX JOHNSON According to a letter received by the New Pittsburgh Courier, Community College of Allegheny County President Alex Johnson could be leaving CCAC to take a position as president of Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland.
by Leah Samuel | PublicSource After getting a parking ticket at Pittsburgh International Airport, a driver requested a copy of the Allegheny Police Department’s report of the incident. The department didn’t respond.
BAKERY SQUARE IN EAST LIBERTY by Emily DeMarco (PublicSource)--Morry Feldman downs two horse pills with breakfast. Then, he uses four different sprays....
