B-PEP

B-PEP Community Bulletin

EVENTS...

Pittsburgh United Victory or Override Celebration - Friday, February 12th
7pm - Letter Carrier's Hall, 841 California Ave
February 12th is the last day that the Mayor can veto this legislation. Join us on that evening as we celebrate with refreshments and dancing! We will either be celebrating the fact that the bill has become law that day, or that we have enough support on Council to over-ride any veto attempt.

For more information, www.pittsburghunited.org.

Three Rivers Community Foundation 20th Anniversary Celebration and Champions of Change Awards - Saturday, February 13
7:15-10pm - Andy Warhol Museum, 117 Sandusky Street
REMP's Celeste Taylor will be one of the honorees at the inaugural Champions of Change Awards. Come and have fun as TRCF Celebrates 20 years. $50 for regular tickets, $100 for VIP tickets (VIP reception begins at 6:15pm).

Contact Anne Lynch, TRCF, for ticket purchase 412-243-9250; alynch@trcf.net.

UGGC Community Gathering - Wednesday, February 17
5:30-8:00pm, Kingsley Association, 6435 Frankstown Avenue
Join the Urban Green Growth Collaborative at their monthly community meeting. It is a great information sharing and networking opportunity.

B-PEP Council Meeting- Thursday, February 18
6:00pm Freedom Unlimited, 2201 Wylie Avenue
* Note change in date and location *
B-PEP's monthly Planning Council meeting is just around the corner. Come and join in the discussion. Freedom Unlimited is located at the corner of Kirkpatrick Street & Wylie Avenue.

Presentation - Impact of the Recession on Women in Pennsylvania - Thursday, February 18
1:30pm - Capitol Media Center, Harrisburg, PA
Topic Presentation: "The Female Face of Poverty and Economic Insecurity: The Impact of the Recession on Women in Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh, MSA"

Speakers will include State Treasurer, Rob McCord, Heather Arnet, Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania, and Ariane Hegewisch, Institute of Women's Policy Research.

For more information and to R.S.V.P., please contact Adriana Dobrzycka, WGF Program Officer at adriana@wgfpa.org or 412-434-4883.

REMP Volunteer Orientation - Saturday, February 20
10-11am, REMP Office (905 West Street, 4th Floor)
If you are interested in volunteering or interning for REMP, please join us! At this orientation we will discuss REMP's current initiatives, how citizen monitors and interns are in integral part of our success, and our current openings.

Please RSVP to Ngani at remp@b-pep.net if you are interested in taking part in this event.

"Good Hair" Film and Discussion - Saturday, February 20
1-5PM Homewood Library, 7101 Hamilton Avenue
Don't miss the viewing and enlightened conversation about Chris Rock's side-splittingly funny documentary "Good Hair", which peeks at the often troubled relationship between African-American women and their crowning glory...And the men who are just as involved!

Minority Business Town Hall Meeting - Wednesday, February 24th
9:00-11:30am, CCAC Allegheny Campus, Student Services Center Auditorium
Registration and continental breakfast at 8:30. Various MBEs and Corporate representatives will share their experiences. The Western PA Minority Supplier Development Council is putting on this program. The event is free for WPMSDC Members and Businesses, $15 for governmental agencies, $25 for non-members, and free for students.

Family Fun Fridays at Kingsley - Friday, February 26
5:30-8:30pm, Kingsley Association, 6435 Frankstown Avenue
The Kingsley Association will be having Family Fun Friday on the 4th Friday of the month all year long. Activities include rock wall climbing, parents v. kids games, open swim, family line dancing and more. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information call 412-661-8751.

UBBCP Monthly Community Book Chat - March 13th
2-4pm Homewood Library, 7101 Hamilton Avenue
The United Black Book Clubs of Pittsburgh (UBBCP) March discussion topic is "What Is the Healing Power of Family?" and discussion will focus around In My Father's House, a novel by Ernest Gaines. Until then, read up!

RESOURCES & REPORTS...

Warming Shelters Available throughout the region
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette has published a list of warming shelters available throughout the county for those without heat and power due to the storm. A list of the six shelters that are operating within the city are available on the city website along with other announcements about how to stay safe in the storm, and updates from the city.

NAACP Congressional Legislative Report Card
On Wednesday, February 3 the NAACP released its annual Congressional Legislative Report Card, an evaluation of the voting records of Congressional members on NAACP agenda issues. The NAACP has graded the U.S. Congress on the "bread and butter" civil rights agenda since 1914. The report card provides a non-partisan assessment of the first session of the 111th Congress, and is designed to provide NAACP members with insight into the general voting patterns of congressional representatives and state delegations.

Click to download the full report or only the Pennsylvania Lawmakers' scores.

Prevailing Wage Passes�Again!
After the 11th Hour Veto by Mayor Ravenstahl on December 31st of last year, the prevailing wage legislation was passed unanimously (again) on February 2nd with some minor, helpful amendments from Councilwoman Rudiak and Councilman Peduto. If the Mayor gives his approval this time around, the passing of this legislation will mean that all large, city subsidized developments must pay their service workers the median wage earned by similar workers throughout the city. B-PEP congratulates Pittsburgh United and the other organizations have fought long and hard for this. Victory indeed.

Black History Month
It's Black History Month again and there is no shortage of events and resources throughout the city. The New Pittsburgh Courier's "This Week in Black History" article is a real treat. And the office of the Mayor in conjunction with the Citiparks department has a great lineup of 10 young Black speakers who they are recognizing for making change. More information is available on the Citiparks website.

Census Bureau is Hiring
The U.S. Census Bureau is looking for 2010 Census takers. These part-time, short-term jobs pay $15.00 per hour, offer flexible hours, and paid training. Census takers work in their own communities, and the Post-Gazette has reported that the Census Bureau needs more applicants from the following neighborhoods: the Hill District, Homewood, Larimer, Lincoln-Lemington and Fairywood and suburbs including Duquesne, Rankin and Wilkinsburg.

If you know if anyone who is looking for employment, please have them contact the national toll free number, 1-866-861-2010.

Kingsley Black College Tour
The 2010 Mary L. Stone Black College Tour exposes high school juniors and sophomores to public, private, large and small colleges in rural and urban settings. This year the tour will run from June 20 - 27, 2010. The application deadline for the 2010 tour is March 1, 2010.

For more information about this great opportunity and to download the application, go to http://www.kingsleyassociation.org/college_tour.html.

Mayor Suspends Officers accused of beating Jordan Miles
Three officers have been suspended with pay while officials investigate accusations they beat up Miles, a CAPA student who was walking to his grandmother's house after dark. "Since the investigation will take several weeks to complete, the immediate action I call for today is necessary for the safety of the officers involved, their colleagues and the peace of mind and safety of the entire community," Mr. Ravenstahl said. To read more click here.

Celeste Taylor to discuss equity on live radio show
Regional Equity Monitoring Project (REMP) Director, Celeste Taylor and Khari Mosley of GTECH Strategies will be discussing equity in local and national policy as guests on the In Loving Voice with Open Heart Show. The live show will air from 10PM - 11PM on Tuesday, February 9th at WWW.HARAMBEERADIO.COM.

Wheatley pushes MWDBE
The New Pittsburgh Courier has reported that Rep. Jake Wheatley, D-Hill District, has introduced a package of legislation aimed at increasing Minority- Women- and Disadvantaged-Business Enterprise inclusion in state jobs and building small business capacity. "This package of legislation would ensure that small businesses and minority-owned, women-owned and disadvantaged-owned businesses across Pennsylvania would receive a fair share of the state work funded by the taxes they and their employees pay," said Wheatley during a Jan. 26 announcement of the bill's' introduction.

Read more about this important package of 10 bills.

Progressive Summit Success
REMP's Celeste Taylor and Pat Clark Pennsylvania VOICE state consultant, Jackson/Clark Partners prepared a workshop at the Pennsylvania Progressive Summit that addressed ways in which all stakeholders can have equity in the progressive movement. This was an important message to spread at a meeting of our state's progressive leaders and organizations.

G-TECH Competes for Pepsi Refresh Project Grant
G-TECH, a nonprofit social enterprise investing in community revitalization through green economic development initiatives is competing in the PEPSI Refresh competition with a project that seeks to revitalize abandoned lots in Pittsburgh and New Orleans by engaging youth ages 16-22 in planting sunflower and canola on these lots. To do this, they need our help - Vote for GTECH's project at http://www.refresheverything.com/gtech, where you can also find more information about their innovative idea.

Tax Return Help
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance services are available February 1st through April 15th. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (V.I.T.A.) is an IRS program for the elderly, disabled and folks with low to moderate income (under $49,000). V.I.T.A. services will be offered during the 2010 tax season in the City-County Building on the 2nd Floor. Please use the Ross Street side elevators. Visit the city website for more information.

PLEASE PARTICIPATE: City of Pittsburgh Planning Survey

The City of Pittsburgh is in the process of preparing its Five Year Consolidated Plan and One Year Annual Action Plan. These plans will guide how the City allocates Federal funding across our communities. Federal funds to be allocated include programs such as Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnership (HOME), Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG), and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA).

As part of the planning process, the City of Pittsburgh is sending out a questionnaire. Your answers to this survey will help city government to understand what City of Pittsburgh Citizens value and want for the future of their communities.

This is a great opportunity to have our voices heard! Go to the city website to print the survey and mail it TODAY! Mail to --

Susan Scheuring
Program Supervisor for Community Development
City Planning Department, City of Pittsburgh
200 Ross Street - 2nd Floor
Pittsburgh, PA 15219

Dennis Brutus joins the ancestors (1924-2009)
Dennis Brutus, the prolific poet and impassioned activist who was imprisoned alongside Nelson Mandela in South Africa, died at his home in Cape Town this morning after battling prostate cancer. He was 85. During his exile Brutus spent a number of years in Pittsburgh as a professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Read more in the Post-Gazette write-up.

Pittsburgh Council meetings will be Available on Internet

Earlier this month City Council voted to hire an organization to make City Council meetings available on the internet. It has been reported that Internet users will be able to watch council meetings live by computer and also search for the videos of old meetings. This system will be up an running in January, 2010.

CLICK HERE for the Coalition Against Violence Implementation Summary Report.

CLICK HERE to view the Fundraiser Souvenir Journal from the B-PEP Jazz event on Monday April 14, 2009.

ANNOUNCEMENTS...

WE NEED YOU! REMP is looking for volunteers to become community monitors to advocate for change. Contact remp@b-pep.net or visit our website at www.pennsylvaniaequity.org or call 412-728-4849.

Prevailing Wage Bill wins first vote in City Council

The Prevailing Wage Bill was passed unanimously at the City Council meeting this past Wednesday, December 16. If the bill passes the final vote on Monday, December 23 it will ensure that all developments in the city of Pittsburgh that receive $100,000 or more in city funding will pay their employees a living wage and benefits. More information is available in the Post-Gazette article.

First-Time Homebuyer Credit Extended to April 30, 2010; Some Current Homeowners Now Also Qualify

A new law that went into effect Nov. 6 extends the first-time homebuyer credit five months and expands the eligibility requirements for purchasers.

The Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 extends the deadline for qualifying home purchases from Nov. 30, 2009, to April 30, 2010. Additionally, if a buyer enters into a binding contract by April 30, 2010, the buyer has until June 30, 2010, to settle on the purchase. The new law also raises the income limits for claiming the credit. The IRS website has more information about the changes and accountingpros.com has published a list of 10 Things to Know about homebuyer credit.

School Works Community Meetings

What's it going to take for all 28,400 PPS students to graduate and move on to post-secondary education or training?��..YOU!

Through School Works, A+ Schools trained over 100 volunteers to conduct interviews in middle schools, high schools and charter schools in Pittsburgh. Twenty-three principals were interviewed in schools about the resources and opportunities they can or would want to offer students. Now it's time for you to hear the results and decide what to do about it!

Please join us to hear the results of School Works and talk about how we can take action! Saturday January 23rd: 10:30-1:00 at Crossroads United Methodist Church, 325 N Highland Ave 15206. Meals and childcare will be provided at each meeting.

Meetings topics may vary so please call or check our website for more information. Register at least 24 hours in advance by phone, web or email: 412-258-2660 . www.aplusschools.org . info@aplusschools.org

Find Youth Info

This website was designed to help youth-serving organizations and community partnerships plan, implement, and participate in effective programs for youth. It is a great resource for finding federal funding for your youth initiative and the website also has a map so that you can find similar projects nearby. Check it out!

---Pittsburgh Presbytery Funding Opportunity!!!---

The link below will provide an application and funding criteria for any group of poor, oppressed or economically disadvantaged people who have developed a project that can address their plight and bring about substantial change.

Groups, not individuals, are encouraged to apply and should send seven copies of the application to the address listed.

http://www.pghpresbytery.org/forms/pdfs/sdop/sdop_app.pdf

A B-PEP MOMENT
IN HONOR OF THE MOST IMPORTANT HISTORICAL MOMENTS
OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Inaugural Ball - 2009 Guest List

Friends and family we all have to remember that God has bought us a mighty long way!!!

Subject: Inaugural Ball - 2009 Guest List

Guests began arriving early. There are no place cards and no name tags. Everyone knows everyone else here. Now, there's a grand foursome Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz sharing laughs with Martin and Coretta Scott King. Looks like Hosea Williams refused the limo again, keeping it real. And my goodness is that Rosa Parks out there on the dance floor with A. Phillip Randolph? Seated at a nearby table, Frederick Douglass has a captive audience in W.E.B. Dubois and Fannie Lou Hamer, and Medgar Evers has just joined them.

Marian Anderson was asked to sing tonight, but she only agreed to do it if accompanied by Marvin Gaye, John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix. Look, there's Harriet Tubman. No one knows how she arrived, but there she is. And my guess is that, when the time comes, no one will see her leave.

There's Jackie Robinson swiftly making his way through the hall as the crowd parts like the Red Sea to the unmistakable sound of applause. "Run, Jackie, run!" Along the way he is embraced by Jesse Owens.

Three beautiful young women arrive with their escorts - Schwerner, Goodman and Chaney. Ms. Viola Liuzzo flew in from Michigan, exclaiming, "I could not miss this." Richard Pryor promised to be on his best behavior. "But I can't make any guarantees for Redd Foxx and Moms Mabley," he chuckled. Joe Louis just faked a quick jab to the chin of Jack Johnson, who smiled broadly while slipping it.

We saw Billy Eckstine and Nat King Cole greet Luther Van Dross. James Brown and Josh Gibson stopped at Walter Payton's table to say hello. I spotted Congressman Adam Clayton Powell of Harlem having a lively political discussion with Eldridge Cleaver.

Pearl Harbor WWII hero Dorey Miller shared a few thoughts with Crispus Attucks, a hero of the Revolutionary War. And there is Madam C.J. Walker talking with Marcus Garvey about exporting goods to Africa. General Benjamin O. Davis flew into Washington safely with an escort from the 99th Fighter Squadron - better known as The Tuskegee Airmen.

At the table on the left are three formidable women - Shirley Chisholm, Sojourner Truth, and Barbara Jordan - gathered for a little girl-talk... about world politics. As usual, all the science nerds seem to have gathered off in a corner, talking shop. There's Granville T. Woods and Lewis Latimer needling each other about whose inventions are better.

Someone jokingly asked Benjamin Banneker if he had needed directions to Washington. And George Washington Carver was overheard asking, "What, no peanuts?" Dueling bands? Anytime Duke Ellington and Count Basie get together, you know the place will be jumping.

Tonight is special, of course, so we have Miles, Dizzy, and Satchmo sitting in on trumpet, with Coltrane, Cannonball, and Bird on sax.

Everyone's attention is directed to the dance floor where Bill "Bo jangles" Robinson is tap dancing. Right beside him is Sammy Davis Jr., doing his Bo jangles routine. And behind his back, Gregory Hines is imitating them both. Applause and laughter abound!

The Hollywood contingent has just arrived from the Coast. Led by filmmaker Oscar Micheaux, Paul Robeson, Canada Lee, and Hattie McDaniel, they find their way to their tables. Dorothy Dandridge, looking exquisite in gold lam�, is seen signaling to her husband, Harold Nicholas, who is standing on the floor with brother Fayard watching Gregory Hines dance. "Hold me back," quips Harold, "before I show that youngster how it's done." Much laughter!

Then a sudden hush comes over the room. The guests of honor have arrived. The President and Mrs. Obama looked out across the enormous ballroom at all the historic faces. Very many smiles, precious few dry eyes. Someone shouted out, "You did it! You did it!"

President Obama replied, "No sir, you did it; you all - each and every one of you - did it. Your guidance and encouragement; your hard work and perseverance..." Obama paused, perhaps holding back a tear.

"I look at your faces - your beautiful faces - and I am reminded that The White House was built by faces that looked just like yours. On October 3, 1792, the cornerstone of the White House was laid, and the foundations and main residence of The White House were built mostly by both enslaved and free African Americans and paid Europeans. In fact, most of the other construction work was performed by immigrants, many of whom had not yet become citizens. Much of the brick and plaster work was performed by Irish and Italian immigrants. The sandstone walls were built by Scottish immigrants. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that The White House is, ultimately, The People's House, with each President serving as its steward. Since 1792 The People have trimmed its hedges, mowed its lawns, stood guard at the gate, cooked meals in the kitchen, and scrubbed its toilet bowls.

But 216 years later, The People are taking it back! "Today, Michelle and I usher in a new era. But while we and our family look toward the future with so much hope, we know that we must also acknowledge fully this milestone in our journey. We want to thank each and every one of you for all you have done to make this day possible. I stand here before you, humbled and in awe of your accomplishments and sacrifice, and I will dedicate my Presidency, in your honor, to the principles of peace, liberty and freedom. If it ever appears that I'm forgetting that, I know I can count on you to remind me."

A little black history worth sharing...

"Rosa sat so Martin could walk----
Martin walked so Obama could run----
Obama won and our children will fly"