Feb 26 2009
This may the most important calendar note I've ever shared.
Tuesday morning, at 566 Brushton Ave., a hearing will be held in the court of Judge Kevin Cooper.
Like I said, boring. But....the hearing is about a citation issued by the City of Pittsburgh against the owners of properties within the Sterrett-Collier complex, for violating the City's building codes.
For years, Sterrett-Collier has been an object of controversy, as well as a primary location for crime. It became nationally famous in urban communities when it was featured in "Bloccs, Projects & Entertainment," a documentary DVD that you may not find at Blockbuster, but that you could find, say, on the tables of certain street vendors, or in certain barbershops.
The City's citation is against RFS Investments LLC, owners of 7501-7503 Hamilton Avenue, and Chaim Templer, owner, 7306-7384 Formosa Way.
This hearing could be the first step toward eliminating one of the greatest blights to our community. I do not know if members of the public will be allowed to comment on the complaint, but if a large number of people simply show up in support of the City's complaint, that could count for a lot.
The hearing is scheduled for 10:30; if you want a seat, you may want to show up at 10.
If you can't attend, but would like to show support, you can call the court at 412 241 1165.
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Feb 20 2009
Anyone who thinks that the hat Aretha Franklin wore to President Obama's inauguration was extraordinary should visit a Black church some Sunday morning.
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This Sunday morning might be a good time to visit some particular churches in Homewood. Seven of them will include a student recognition ceremony in their morning worship services.
The idea originated with the "Solomon Awards" at the Bible Center Church of God in Christ, 7236 Bennett Avenue, given at the end of each grading period to kids who do well academically. The Bible Center award is not just applause or Amens; they get $10.
This Sunday six other churches, all members of Homewood Brushton Community Ministries, will honor their young scholars. Not all of them give cash, but they all give some sort of gift to students who either have a 3.0 grade point average, or have improved significantly from the previous grading period, said HBCM intern Alexandra Joachim:
- Bethany Baptist, 7745 Tioga Street
- Bethesda Presbyterian, 7220 Bennett Street
- Carrone Baptist, 7119 Frankstown Avenue
- Church of the Holy Cross Episcopal, 7507 Kelly Street
- St. Charles Lwanga Roman Catholic (recognition ceremony to be held at Corpus Christi, Lincoln Avenue)
- Trinity Temple, 7043 Hamilton Avenue
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I started to write a post about the 100th anniversary of the NAACP, but Leonard Pitts did a much better job than I would have, with a piece so well-done that it makes the quietness of our local chapter concerning the anniversary even more puzzling.
I hope that whatever celebration does occur is affordable for the majority of Pittsburgh's Black population. Sometimes we middle-class folks act like the most important freedom of all is the freedom not to associate with our less-privileged kin.
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Feb 13 2009
That's a possible headline from the future. As the NFL's greatest franchise, with the world's most devoted fans, they spend a good bit of time in public appearances, especially where they can connect with youth. So they could make an appearance in Homewood, right?
If some Steelers came to Homewood, would the media show up? Dumb question, right? Pittsburgh's media are Steeler puppies, they follow those guys everywhere. So you'd turn on the news and see Ben or Hines or Troy signing footballs or autographing Terrible Towels for Homewood kids.
That would be great for the kids; it might also be good for the community as a whole to have Homewood in the news for a feel-good story.
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Dr. Howard B. Slaughter, Jr. says that he wants Homewood to have that kind of visibility. And since he is the executive director of the Landmarks Community Capital Corporation, he can help to make that happen, because LCCC distributes money. And other than the Steelers doing anything anywhere, one of the most common subjects for feel-good stories is people distributing money, or at least announcing that they have money to distribute.
Dr. Slaughter is making that type of announcement this morning. LCCC has partnered with a bunch of other folks to create the Metropolitan Loan Fund of Pittsburgh, a $1.75 million fund created to spur more business opportunities in the Pittsburgh region, "with an emphasis to increase minority entrepreneurship," according to their press release.
The announcement is being made in front of Dorsey's Record Shop, chosen by Dr. Slaughter not only because it is in Homewood, but because it is a third-generation Black-owned business, something that is far too rare here or anywhere else in Pittsburgh.
The loan fund is for entrepreneurs in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties. Dr. Slaughter said that one of the primary criteria for getting a loan from the fund would be making a committment to meet with the committee, not just when making application, but "throughout the entire time that they have the loan."
"We may ask them to come in three or four times a year to meet with us," he said, to maintain "the face-to-face connections that we belive make the difference here."
Owners of small to medium-sized businesses who would like to apply or to learn more should call Annabelle Javier at 412 471 5808.
Readers may recall that Dr. Slaughter and friends visited Homewood in July to announce the Urban Economic Loan Fund, a $5 million fund for urban non-profit groups. They could have made the announcement of the city-wide fund anywhere in the city. Dr. Slaughter said that he chose to make the announcement here because "it created an opportunity for visibility. We had a hundred people or so in Homewood in the middle of the day and there was no problem."
Actually, doing it that way did create a slight problem: some folks misread the action, believing that they were announcing $5 million to be spent in Homewood. There's always something.
Question for Homewood residents and others who care about the neighborhood: "How can we create more feel-good stories in Homewood that the media will feel compelled to cover?"
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Feb 12 2009
Somebody scribbled a graffiti once that said: JESUS SAVES!
And somebody else came along and scribbled beneath it: BUT MOSES INVESTS!
Confession: When I first heard about the Save Race Street Committee, I was a little put off by the name. I would have been much more attracted to an Invest in Race Street Committee.
Well, the committee met Saturday - the meetings have become a regular monthly affair - and it turned out to be one of the most encouraging meetings that I've ever attended in Homewood, because it was the first time in which the attendees as a group expressed a serious interest in doing that very thing: investing in Race Street, and bringing out the potential of the vacant properties there.
Don't know yet what we *will* do, but simply being with a group of people who really want to explore what we *can* do made me sing on the way home:
Baby, baby, I'm fallin in love
I'm fallin in love again...
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Homewood is getting a new restaurant.
I noticed it when I got off the 71D Hamilton at the corner of Sterrett Street on the way home yesterday: a small space next to Baker's Dairy had lights on, and people were working inside and I saw tables with linen cloths and centerpieces.
I knocked on the door, gained admittance, and met Martha McIvers, who said that most people know her as "Sheba." (I didn't ask why, having long since given up on attempting to discern rationales behind nicknames; what earthly reasoning could justify calling someone "Boo," or "Pookie?").
Ms. Sheba (may as well go with it, right?) and her crew were deep into last-minute preparations for their grand opening, which is tomorrow.
"God gave me this place," she said. "when Mom passed away, she left me an inheritance," and Sheba poured it into Katie's International Restaurant, where she wants to provide an "elegant" dining experience, complete with waitstaff in bowties, jazz through the week and gospel music on Sundays.
Elegant, but not expensive. "I try to keep (pricing) as low as I can because of the neighborhood," she said. That means a full Sunday dinner for $7.50
She spoke about the restaurant in terms that sounded more like a life mission rather than a mere business.
"Before I go, I have to open up the nicest place for Black people to eat," she said.
"Before I go" wasn't mere hyperbole. She has lupus.
She promises that the entire menu will be homemade: the catfish, eggs, homefries and grits being served for breakfast; the spaghetti and the vegetarian primo gusto offered for lunch; the BBQ ribs and pork chops on the dinner menu; along with the greens and the mac and cheese and the red beans and rice and the cornbread and the peach cobbler...
Katie's will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Meeting Sheba and learning about her restaurant dispelled an interior darkness that had settled when I saw that the KFC had closed. I mean, there was something really, really discouraging about not even being able to buy some Colonel Sanders in the 'hood, you know?
But now I can buy some Katie's. Hallelujah, praise God and Amen.
And I'll add this: as much I loved KFC's chicken. the place itself was not one where I would say to someone, "Let's meet at KFC." Katie's looks like it could be a nice meeting place.
The address is 7302 Hamilton Avenue. Check it out.
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