New Pittsburgh Courier back issues from January 2006:
Blacks not guaranteed to Common Pleas bench
Jan 04, 2006; ... When Cynthia Baldwin is confirmed to the state Supreme Court and Walter Little's much rumored retirement is announced, it will leave two vacancies on Allegheny Common Pleas Court. And though these seats have been held by African-American jurists for 16 and 20 years respectively, there is no ...
Former Courier resident poet Helen Prattis dies
Jan 04, 2006 ... Helen Prattis signed her creations with a simple dash, her name in lower case. Her poetry was a regular fixture in the heyday of the Pittsburgh Courier, appearing in the weekly's magazine supplement as "Everyday Verse." The final verse has been scribed for the Courier's "poet laureate," ...
Central stands and fights to rebuild 'urban wasteland'
Jan 04, 2006; ... While some congregations contemplate moving from the Hill District to North Hills, or from Larimer to Plum Boro, Central Baptist Church pastor Rev. Victor Grigsby continues work on a long-range plan to reclaim the middle Hill from the drug dealers and assorted criminals who clog its sidewalks on ...
The Way I See It; Making book on Daniel
Jan 04, 2006; ... I received an e-mail petition urging me to contact my local NBC affiliate and ask them not to air their new hour-long religious drama, "The Book of Daniel." The series, set to begin airing Jan. 6, depicts the life and family of an Episcopal priest named Daniel Webster. Webster has an ...
Commentary; What about the quality of justice from Blacks?
Jan 04, 2006; ... As I looked at the Black superintendent of police in New Orleans, Warren Riley, on television recently justifying the killing of a Black man on the streets of the city by his police force (perhaps by bullets fired by a Black policeman among the three) I knew that this was not a result for which ...
Boston example could work here in Pittsburgh
Jan 04, 2006; ... In a unique showing of support to crime victims and witnesses, the city of Boston joined with clergy and the Suffolk County district attorney to expand Project Strength and Spirit. Founded in October 2002, the effort attempts to offset the tactics of some criminals to intimidate victims ...
Lifestyles Report; We've got our TV One
Jan 04, 2006; ... We've got our TV One. Without fanfare or celebration the Black-owned network took over cable channel 173 on Comcast digital cable. The only way I knew it had arrived was a very small article in the TV section of the newspaper. I wanted confetti, balloon drops and excitement. To me this ...
Faith and poverty; Rediscovering the back story of Christmas
Jan 04, 2006; ... This year I viewed the familiar Christmas story through a new lens. Hurricane Katrina and the proposed federal budget compel us to pay attention to the 'back story' of the Christmas narrative. It's a story about fragile families, poverty, and the good community. You don't have to ...
Shocking secrets change three friends' lives
Jan 04, 2006; ... You and your friends hang out all the time. You get together at one another's houses. You baby-sit each other's kids. You go to the club, to church, to sporting events, to the gym together. You have history, and you know everything there is to know about one another, right? Maybe. And ...
Boys Choir of Harlem faces eviction in NYC
Jan 04, 2006 ... The choir has been asked to leave the public school where it practices for free by Jan. 31. The Boys Choir also provided some instruction at the school, called the Choir Academy of Harlem, as part of a 12-year collaboration with the Department of Education. The choir failed to fulfill a ...
Dungy represents 'best' of generation
Jan 04, 2006; ... I remember when Tony Dungy first came to the Pittsburgh Steelers as a rookie in the late 1970's. At that time he had what I can only describe as being a "superfly style haircut." He was a young and articulate funkateer from the University of Minnesota who had been a great quarterback in ...
United Way faces discrimination suit
Jan 04, 2006; ... After starting as an accountant in 1985, James Overton became the United Way of Allegheny County's chief financial officer, and the only Black member of the executive management team by 1999. Last January he was fired, and last week he sued the agency and its CEO William Meyer, claiming ...
MLK Reading Center remains open--for now
Jan 04, 2006; ... The Friends of the Martin Luther King Jr. Reading/Cultural Center in the Hill District won a temporary injunction against the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in their effort to keep the center open. Allegheny County Judge Timothy P. O'Reilly signed the order just hours before the doors to the ...
UNDER ATTACK; Churches actively working to decrease crime
Jan 04, 2006; ... On the second Sunday of every month, a building along North Side's California Avenue is packed with young people praising God in a manner that allows them the self-expression that many other church services don't. They are joined by a congregation that is committed to supporting them ...
Get on the 'Thank You Bus' for Jerome Bettis
Jan 04, 2006 ... Before he rumbles off into retirement, taking a generation of Steeler fans with him, we'd like to give Jerome Bettis the fragrant flowers he has earned. It is rare that an athlete captures the heart of a city. It is even more rare that a Black athlete in Pittsburgh is accorded that kind ...
Ransom Notes; My suggested list of New Year resolutions for a few folks
Jan 04, 2006; ... I don't normally keep New Year's resolutions. Oh yeah, I make them, but I've already broken a couple that I made this year, and by Jan. 31, I won't remember the rest of them. That won't stop me from suggesting a few for some other folks. Hopefully, they will find the fortitude to keep ...
To Tell The Truth; Our youth know 50 Cent, but don't know you
Jan 04, 2006; ... The Friends of Kingsley will start the second part of their campaign to raise $100,000 from the community with the first meeting Jan. 5, at 6 p.m., at the Kingsley Association. It has become increasingly more important that we demonstrate by our actions that not only are we concerned, ...
An Evening With the Stars fetes Stevie Wonder
Jan 04, 2006 ... PITTSBURGH--The United Negro College Fund has announced that legendary songwriter, musician, and singer Stevie Wonder will receive an all-star tribute for his lifetime achievement on UNCF's annual televised fund-raiser, "An Evening of Stars." The four-hour tribute, taped at the Kodak Theater in ...
Civil Rights 'hero' stayed the course; Rev. Leroy Patrick dies at 90
Jan 18, 2006 ... Reverend LeRoy Patrick, a stalwart in the local civil rights movement who was instrumental in desegregating pools, schools and restaurants during more than 50 years of activism here in Pittsburgh, died Jan. 12 at home in Oakland. He was 90. Reverend Patrick pastored the Bethesda Center, ...
Crawford Grill closes its doors; Blames poor foot traffic
Jan 11, 2006; ... No Too Sweet Lounge, no James Street Tavern and now, with the closing of the Crawford Grill on the Square, there is one less place to see live jazz in Pittsburgh. The Grill's last day was Jan. 7 according to a brief e-mail sent by owner Tom Burley two days later. "It's sad, but ...
'Stop Killin" T-shirts counter snitchin' message
Jan 11, 2006; ... As Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino asks his city's retailers to remove the now infamous "Stop Snitchin'" T-shirts from their shelves, one local apparel company is asking Pittsburgh's stores to replace it with something new. Team Neva Apparel, a company that usually sells motorcycle ...
Swann tackles governor's office
Jan 11, 2006; ... While most think of the post-season taking place in Indianapolis on Sunday, former Steelers wide-receiver Lynn Swann hopes to re-define the term. Instead of providing television commentary on football, Swann continues his quest to secure the Republican nomination to be the Keystone State's next ...
Duquesne Light honors King
Jan 11, 2006 ... PITTSBURGH--Duquesne Light Company employees will honor the life and contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by doing for others through their volunteer work in Allegheny and Beaver counties on Jan. 16. Established by Duquesne Light in 1996, the 11th annual "Living the Dream" program ...
King moved a nation with his "I Have A Dream" speech
Jan 11, 2006 ... Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the ...
The Hutchinson Report; Snatching at King's legacy
Jan 11, 2006; ... The scramble to snatch and grab a piece of Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy has not diminished one bit in the 20 years since the first King national holiday was celebrated. Ironically, Ronald Reagan was the first to grab at it. Reagan fought tooth and nail against passage of the King holiday ...
Ransom Notes; Top Court nominee might mean less justice for Blacks in the future
Jan 11, 2006; ... I've been hearing a lot about judges lately. Common Pleas Court Judge Cynthia Baldwin is going to be one of the Supremes. Former Pittsburgh Steeler Dwayne Woodruff has been sent to the bench. It seems judges are all the rage. You don't think judges are important? Just remember that it ...
Commentary; Judge Alito's civil wrongs record
Jan 11, 2006; ... As the Senate Judiciary Committee examines the fitness of U.S. Appeals Court Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court, it would be easy to presume that civil rights groups are opposing Alito's nomination simply because he is a conservative. However, a ...
Ebenezer stays loyal to Hill District
Jan 11, 2006 ... After fire destroyed Ebenezer Baptist Church nearly two years ago, church leaders could have decided to rebuild in another community, but chose to stay in the Hill District. Dr. J. Van Alfred Winsett, Ebenezer's senior pastor, says he and his congregation wouldn't have it any other ...
Dr. Gloria; Seasonal affective disorder
Jan 11, 2006; ... Do you have the "winter blahs?" Some of you become sad when you begin to see the leaves fall from the trees because you know that winter is coming. You are not a happy person in winter. Many years ago when folks complained about the winter doldrums, no one really thought that feeling ...
Biggie's mother writes about her son
Jan 11, 2006; ... From the moment a baby is born, its mother, after she counts up fingers and toes, wants to devote her life to making sure her child gets everything he needs. The thing is, the worry and work of bringing up a child never ends as long as the child walks the same earth as the mother who ...
Still flying; Verona Giant Eagle owner says e-mail campaign to save it not needed
Jan 11, 2006; ... As community leaders, East End residents and fellow minority business owners rush to save the only Black-owned Giant Eagle in the city from going out of business, the store's owner says there's nothing to save it from. An e-mail campaign that started in the middle of December claims the ...
Phillips new Penn State recruiter
Jan 11, 2006 ... Michael A. Phillips, Pittsburgh native and Penn State University grad, has been appointed director for the Penn State University Recruitment Center, located in Point Breeze. For nine years at the University Park campus of Penny State University in State College, Pa., Phillips serves as ...
Bidwell's Bill Strickland to receive PAPA award
Jan 11, 2006 ... William E. Strickland, president and CEO of Manchester Bidwell Corp. and its subsidiaries, Manchester Craftsmen's Guild and Bidwell Training Center, will receive the tenth annual Performing Arts Partnership and Achievement Award at Point Park University's 12th annual Starmakers Gala, April 22 at ...
Racism and coaching in the NFL
Jan 11, 2006; ... It's time for the National Football League to take the 'whites-only' sign off the clubhouse door and hire more African-American coaches. Anyone searching for job security shouldn't look for a career in NFL coaching. A full one-quarter of coaches have been canned including Oakland's Norv ...
Agreement keeps MLK Reading Center doors open
Jan 11, 2006; ... A beleaguered community resource has received a 45-day reprieve to develop plans for new life. On Jan. 5, Allegheny Common Pleas Judge Judith Friedman declined to hold a hearing or to rule on an injunction filed by the friends of the Hill District's Martin Luther King Jr ....
Minister responds to 'Under Attack' series
Jan 11, 2006; ... Though many people responded to the New Pittsburgh Courier's recent "Under Attack by Us" series, few said they planned to take any action to seize their community back from the violence. However, when Rev. Sheldon Stoudemire read about nurses refusing to deliver required cancer treatment ...
Baker's Dozen keeps school milk contract
Jan 11, 2006 ... Bakers Dozen Inc., the Black-owned firm that won the Pittsburgh School District's first publicly-bid milk contract, did not lose the contract at year's end as stated in a Dec. 8 letter from district Solicitor Stephanie Royal. Attorney Heather Heidelbaugh, who represents Bakers Dozen, ...
We are the only ones that can save 'us'
Jan 11, 2006 ... At the conclusion of our four-week "Under Attack: By us!" series, looking at the impact of crime and violence on the Black community, we found that while the series had come to an end, the coverage and the focus must not. What we also found out was that there are thousands of ...
Weed & Seed uproot may cost community dollars
Jan 11, 2006; ... Newly elected Pittsburgh Mayor Bob O'Connor's zeal to eliminate holdovers from the Murphy administration's Weed & Seed staff may cost the city millions of dollars in federal funds, said one of the program's former directors. Weed and Seed funnels grant funds to specific neighborhoods ...
To Tell The Truth; Big, small, rich, poor, important, unimportant
Jan 11, 2006; ... I stopped by Cheers, a neighborhood tavern, one day and Porter, a retired bus driver who had over 25 years of outstanding service with the Port Authority, stopped me. He said, "I buy the New Pittsburgh Courier every week and read your column religiously, but you frequently write about big, rich, ...
The Way I See It; Keeping the year free of clutter
Jan 11, 2006; ... I don't know about everyone else, but I have big plans for the New Year. There is a counter in our home that accumulates mail, children's artwork, rocks, half-finished books, action figures, keys, and all manner of papers. When walking into other homes in our neighborhood I have noticed that ...
Lifestyles Report; We need a resolution
Jan 11, 2006; ... Cover your eyes and your ears, the first of the year resolution ads are in full effect. As soon as the ball dropped in Times Square the TV ads began. The magazine ads began long before the television campaigns and they'd stare you down from the magazine racks. Try standing in the check ...
Ten lose degrees in SU grade-changing scandal
Jan 11, 2006; ... Ten former students at Southern University have lost their degrees after a two-year investigation into charges that a student presented false credentials to the graduate school. The former students are subject to criminal indictment. A former assistant registrar pleaded guilty ...
CMH to host summit on eliminating health disparities
Jan 11, 2006 ... PITTSBURGH--The University of Pittsburgh's Center for Minority Health, housed in the Graduate School of Public Health, will co-sponsor the National Leadership Summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health to be held Jan. 9-11 in Washington, D.C. The 2006 summit, ...
AHMAD JAMAL returns to his roots
Jan 11, 2006; ... He's come a long way since graduating from Westinghouse High School at the age of 17. All that piano playing Ahmad Jamal did back then has paid off in dividends--world-revered, and named by the "prince of darkness"--Miles Davis--as a primary influence. Not bad for a brother who had a Pittsburgh ...
The Carr Report; Until debt do us part
Jan 11, 2006; ... I solemnly take thee to be my lawfully wedded spouse. For better or for worse, For RICHER OR POORER, through sickness and good health, until DEATH do us part. Today, the divorce rate is an alarming 51 percent, meaning one out of every two marriages ends in divorce. Of those divorces ...
Brenda Frazier heads County Council economic development committee
Jan 11, 2006 ... Brenda Frazier, who represents Allegheny County Council District 13, has been appointed as the new chairman of the Council Economic Development committee by Council President Rich Fitzgerald, D-Squirrel Hill. Allegheny County Council is the legislative body of Allegheny County ...
Cheaters don't always win
Jan 11, 2006; ... After the Vince Young show drew the final curtain on the "appointed" national championship three-peat hopes of the University of Southern California, or as the prognosticators affectionately call it USC, there are a multitude of crow eaters in the national sports media with feathers hanging from ...
Food Bank sets education campaign
Jan 11, 2006 ... PITTSBURGH--How many people in southwestern Pennsylvania know anything about hunger, food insecurity, the difference between the Food Bank and a food pantry, or just how many people experience hunger in this area? A study by the Forbes Fund in 2004 says only about 13 percent of the people in our ...
Harriet Tubman Guild holds 90th annual
Jan 04, 2006; ... Snow flurries and below freezing temperatures didn't deter more than 350 women from attending the 90th annual Queen's Luncheon and Scholarship Award event at the Churchill Valley Country Club Dec. 3. The Harriet Tubman Guild, Inc. presents this popular soiree. A primary focus of the ...
Dr. Gloria; Domestic violence
Jan 04, 2006; ... "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home." Most of you would like to think that home is the safest place on earth for everyone. While home may be safe for you, it may not be a safe place for all. In November 2005, the World Health Organization reported that women are more at risk for ...
Technology For Today; Taking the fear out of technology
Jan 04, 2006; ... One of the most difficult things I do in my day job is to save the life of some unsuspecting piece of technology. The basic scene is always the same. An absolutely furious or completely baffled consumer has reached the end of their rope and is threatening to throw the device out the nearest ...
Playwright's maiden voyage charted to stir the waters
Jan 04, 2006; ... "My skin is yellow My hair is long Between two worlds I do belong My father was rich and white He forced my mother late one night What do they call me My name is ..." --Excerpted from "Four Women" by Nina Simone, 1966 "This ...
The 13th Man; How officiating may be giving new meaning to "home field advantage or disadvantage"
Jan 04, 2006; ... In football, fan participation is called the twelfth man, in basketball the 6th man. But now the officials are playing a more vital role in the outcomes of some sporting events. Recently, there have been numerous examples of "official interference," officials and their incorrect calls or ...
NAACP working on new school plan; Calls 'right-sizing' plan racist
Jan 18, 2006; ... Pittsburgh Superintendent of Schools Mark Roosevelt said NAACP Pittsburgh Unit President M. Gayle Moss' recent characterization of the district reorganization plan as "racist" is not helpful. Moss first called the district plan racist during a community meeting Jan. 11. She repeated it ...
Spirit of King Award honors two
Jan 18, 2006; ... Twenty years ago, a tree was planted in East Liberty to honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Three years later, the Kingsley Association began honoring local people who lived their lives in his spirit. This year's recipients epitomized the struggles and triumphs faced by ...
Mayor's top cop pick is appalling
Jan 18, 2006 ... The city of Pittsburgh's has had a long and sometimes deadly history of confrontation between the police and the Black community. The situation deteriorated to a point where the United States Department of Justice had to intervene and enter into a consent decree with the city, to force ...
Progress, not politics
Jan 18, 2006; ... I grew up in Searchlight, Nevada--a tiny, remote mining town in the Southern tip of the state. Searchlight sits in the middle of the desert, and in the 1950s, was about as far as you could get from the front lines of the struggle for Civil Rights. While all of us were aware that the seeds of ...
Commentary; The FBI and Dr. King
Jan 18, 2006; ... Few people in history have been as dedicated to civil rights as Dr. King. In an interview with Playboy magazine, he noted that he worked 20 hours a day, traveled 325,000 miles a year, giving 450 speeches. That grueling schedule alone was enough to take a toll on Dr. King and his family life. But ...
Dr. Gloria; Strokes
Jan 18, 2006; ... Lately, it seems that more and more people I know have told me that they have relatives who have had strokes. Most of these stroke survivors are senior citizens, while some are under 50. A few of the stroke survivors have recovered nicely. Others have lost the ability to walk or ...
Lifestyles Report; Art lovers take note
Jan 18, 2006; ... I love an adventure. On Jan. 7 I headed to New Castle PA with our new associate editor C. Denise Johnson and my good friend LaMont Jones. We get a lot of invitations in our business and often you can predict your evening. Since we were all heading to new territory we weren't sure what to ...
Manual for a fabulous pregnancy
Jan 18, 2006; ... You say you've been feeling kind of nauseous lately. You have no energy and your brain doesn't seem to be working right. Well, the flu's going around. But this malady you've got will probably take a few months to resolve. Like nine of them, if you know what I mean. If ...
Riverwalk becoming center for Black businesses
Jan 18, 2006; ... Where in Pittsburgh does an African-American entrepreneur locate his start-up business? Increasingly, the location, location, location is the River Walk Corporate Center on the South Side. For a long time the only Black-owned company in the Center, formerly called the Terminal Buildings, ...
Steelers rise to the occasion
Jan 18, 2006; ... This was supposed to be the year of the cakewalk for the Indianapolis Colts, but the Pittsburgh Steelers may end up as "cocks of the walk." The Steelers defeated Indianapolis 21-18 in dramatic fashion and helped shepherd that "team of destiny" to its final destination, the living room sofa ....
Consumers take another major hit to the wallet in 2006
Jan 18, 2006 ... PHOENIX, Ariz.--Americans are headed into the New Year battling record heating costs, high gas prices and mounting receipts from the holidays. Now, to add to their woes, millions of credit card holders are finding significant increases to their minimum payments. For the next few months, their ...