America’s best weekly
Brenden Jones
Karris Jackson
Receives Gates Scholarship
Named COO of POISE Foundation
People A7
Business B1
Alpha Weekend 2018
Pittsburgh Courier www.newpittsburghcourier.com
NEW
Vol. 109 No. 28
Two Sections
Published Weekly
JULY 11-17, 2018
$1.00
Penn Hills YMCA New man to close Aug. 31 in charge Two other branches to close as part of reorganization by Christian Morrow and Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writers
Sheila Greene has loved her Penn Hills YMCA for 15 years. It’s been the source of a good workout after a hard day’s work, along with the place her godchildren go for fun activities. But come Aug. 31, the Penn Hills YMCA will be no more. “I am totally shocked,” Greene told the New Pittsburgh Courier, after learning from YMCA officials that the Penn Hills, Wilmerding and Coraopolis locations
Phillip Woods named principal at Woodland Hills High School
Wants to ‘raise expectations’ for students Woods, who most recently was principal at West Mifflin Area High School and, prior to West Mifflin, was principal at the former Hebron Elementary School in Penn Hills, is coming into a school district that has been a hotbed for controversy. Murray was placed on administrative leave after he was heard via audio recording in late 2016 threatening to knock the teeth out of a then-14-yearold Woodland Hills student. Even after a public outcry, the Woodland Hills School District
Courier Staff Writer
There’s a new leader at Woodland Hills Junior/Senior High School, a person who vows to be “highly visible,” “highly engaged,” and to “raise expectations.” Phillip K. Woods, EdD, was named Woodland Hills Junior/ Senior High School’s new principal last week, replacing Candee Nagy, an assistant principal who had served as acting principal, after Kevin Murray resigned last August.
SEE YMCA A4
Pittsburgh Blues and Roots Festival returns July 21-22
PHILLIP WOODS, EdD, was named Woodland Hills Junior/Senior High School principal on July 2.
by Rob Taylor Jr.
would be closing for good as part of the Y’s reorganization plan. “It’s so lively up here with the athletics and afterschool programming. I’m so disappointed that, out of all of them, they would close this one.” For the YMCA, the good news is they’ve asked to be released from bankruptcy protection months ahead of schedule. But it’s unfortunate for people like Greene, a Penn Hills resident, that more locations have to close by the end of the summer to accomplish this.
Board voted to make Murray the school’s football coach in early 2017. But Murray ultimately decided to walk away from both the head football coaching position and principal of the school. Also making news in the district was the number of students that have been killed by gun violence, most recently the shooting death of 17-year-old Antwon Rose II by East Pittsburgh police Officer Michael Rosfeld, SEE WOODS A4
WALTER TROUT
by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer
With a new venue, new partners and benefiting organizations, the blues returns to Pittsburgh with the Blues and Roots Festival, July 21 and 22, at the Syria Shrine Center in Cheswick. Also making a return is Bernard Allison, a guitar master who learned at the feet of his leg-
endary father, Luther, and who performed at the old Pittsburgh Blues Festival three times in 2007, 2012 and 2014. Allison picked up the guitar at age 10. Listening to Luther’s collection of Howlin’ Wolf, T-Bone Walker, and Lightning Hopkins while his father was away on tour, he garnered the same influences and the same passion. Along the way he also became an accomplished slide guitar player, having learned the technique from the late, great Johnny Winter. In addition to Allison, the two-day festival will feature a number of national and local performers as well as a Tribute to the Legendary Women of the Blues: Etta James, Sista Monica Parker, Bessie Smith, Koko SEE BLUES A5
Sen. Casey calls for more investment in opioid crisis and infrastructure by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer
In a fairly wide-ranging Q&A with members of the local African American Chamber of Commerce’s special breakfast event, July 9, at the Rivers Club, Downtown, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said the federal government needs to reprioritize its spending to address critical issues that states and municipalities simply cannot afford to deal with—including the opioid crisis, the region’s failing bridges and roads, and the recurrent flooding that has
devastated multiple counties across the state. “With respect to the opioid crisis, everybody—especially in these rural counties—thinks they are hit hardest, but the next county over is the same or worse,” he said. “I remember visiting one and they told me, ‘We can’t keep up with the bodies.’ At the local level, the response and cooperation among police, hospitals, government and community agencies has been remarkable—they just need more resources.” He said the number of fatalities seems to be tick-
Pittsburgh Courier NEW
To subscribe, call 412-481-8302 ext. 134
ing down now, but this is a long-term fight. “The latest budget did allocate $1 billion and Pennsylvania got $52 million of that,” he said. “But I’ve proposed consistent funding on the order of $7 billion a year for 10 years because we’re going to be dealing with this for 25 years at least.” Senator Casey said he believed U.S. President Donald Trump wanted to address the country’s infrastructure deficiencies, but he delegated that fight to Congress and it was shoved aside for more partisan
considerations. “I thought he was going to build. He built hotels all over, but he deferred to the hard right,” said Sen. Casey. “We need a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill, it would put a lot of people to work and address the roads bridges and water issues, and even getting high speed wi-fi and phone access to rural regions.” Senator Casey also blamed the “hard right” for scuttling and delaying bi-partisan legislation on workforce development, prison and sentencing reform, and MWDBE promotion. He was then asked about the SEE CASEY A4
Kay Coles James says
SENATOR BOB CASEY (Photo by J.L. Martello)
Our children are at risk Opinion B3