America’s best weekly


ʻOne Life to Liveʼ star speaks of bias on the set


Arts & Culture B5


Interracial marriages on the rise National A6


Pittsburgh Courier www.newpittsburghcourier.com NEW VOL. 103, NO. 9 Three Sections


Duquesne school’s future uncertain


by Rebecca Nuttall Courier Staff Writer


Several weeks after


Duquesne city leaders con- vened to discuss the future of 440 students in the K-8 Duquesne City School Dis- trict, that future remains uncertain. “We had the meeting be-


cause the elected board and the community, we, wanted to see what options we’d have if they do close the school district. So we wanted to get the commu-


nity together as well as local officials,” said Connie Lucas, a Duquesne school board member. “What they’re deciding to do, I guess it’s too early to tell us because we haven’t heard anything. We don’t know exactly what can be done.” Chargedwith deciding the


fate of the school district is the state board of control, which is currently consider- ing four options: moving students to theWestMifflin Area School District, which currently


houses


Duquesne’s high school students; sending the stu- dents to Propel Charter School; con- verting Duquesne into a charter dis- trict; or keeping the district open. While Lucas has no actual control over the deci- sion, since the Duquesne school board has lost its voting power, she said the community wants the district, made up of one school,


the


SCHOOL BOARD—Connie Lucas would like to see a Duquesne City School Dis- trict that better educates its children. (Photo by Rossano P. Stewart)


Duquesne Educa- tion Center, to re- main open.


SEE DUQUESNE A4


PPS: A silver lining in financial crisis


by Rebecca Nuttall Courier Staff Writer


Despite the Pittsburgh


Public School District’s struggling financial situa- tion, school officials say there’s a silver lining. The financial crisis has forced administrators to recon- sider the district’s educa- tion delivery model and re- distribute resources to in- crease equity across schools. “One of the big takeaways


is we realize we’re in crisis, but from crisis comes op- portunity. We know that our current structure isn’t serving our children equi-


tably,” said Jeannine French, chief of school per- formance. “We’re looking for solutions that will increase our equity and achieve- ment, and that will make us financially sustainable.” The district faces a $21.7


million deficit in 2012. In an effort to balance their budget, the district has been using funds from its operating budget, but this fund could disappear by 2015. “We have a problem that’s


been sneaking up on us. The past five years, we’ve been spending more than


SEE PPS A4


Wecht calls prescribed drug abuse ʻmajor epidemicʼ


Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer


Michael Jackson, Anna


Nichole Smith, Heath Ledger; all of them died from overdoses of prescrip- tion medications, andWhit- ney Houston’s death may also be linked to misuse of prescription drugs. But Dr. Cyril Wecht said it is not happening only with the rich and famous. Thou- sands are dying annually from what he calls an epi- demic, which he said must stop. “It’s completely out of con-


trol, and it involves people across the board, from every socioeconomic class,” he said. “This is amajor epi- demic with 27,000 deaths a year. That’s more than heroin and cocaine com- bined.” During a Feb. 28 press


conference at his Pitts- burgh office,Wecht cited re- cent reports in USA Today and the Journal of the American Medical Associa- tion, which noted the in- crease in prescribed drug deaths, and called for addi-


SEE WECHT A5 Pittsburgh Courier NEW


To subscribe, call 412-481-8302 ext. 134 or FAX 412-481-1360


Published Weekly FEBRUARY 29-MARCH 6, 2012 $1.00


by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer


Not only will African-


Americans benefit as resi- dents of the 45 new homes being built in Garfield, but also as part of the labor force and supplier pool con- tributing to construction. “We wanted to make sure


this wasn’t just bricks and mortar, that we didn’t for- get the human capital,” said Garfield Jubilee President Joanne Monroe. “Even be- yond employment, there’s the pride factor, that years from now people will tell their kids, ‘I worked on that and made money.’” The project is required to


employ residents and use businesses in the develop- ment area underU.S.Hous- ing and Urban Develop- ment Act 3 because it is being financed with low-in- come tax credits. Monroe said five residents


were used during the demo- lition process and, at amin- imum, another eight will be


to be the best Sports C4


Nyama takes honest approach


GIRLS CITY LEAGUE CHAMPS—The Allderdice girls team celebrates their City League Championship as Dr. Linda Lane, superintendent of Pittsburgh Public Schools, presents them with the championship trophy, Feb. 25. Allderdice (21-3) beat Westinghouse (19-5) 49-46. See story and more photos on C5. (Photo by William McBride)


Blacks to benefit from Garfield housing plan


hired during the construc- tion phase. The project also has a Minority Business Enterprise target of 17 per- cent. “We have a database of


people fromthe community. Anyone who wants to work on this should callme atmy


SEE GARFIELD A3


DIG IT—Federal, state and local officials join their community partners at the Feb. 24 groundbreaking for 50 affordable rental proper- ties called Garfield Glen.(Photo by J.L. Martello)


Budget watch on welfare: Savings won’t cover cuts


by Christian Morrow Courier Staff Writer


During a Feb. 21 presen-


tation to a coalition of human service providers and foundation members, Sharon Ward, executive di- rector of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, said it is unlikely that effi- ciencies will make up for the 20-percent cut to county human services proposed in GovernorTomCorbett’s lat- est budget. “In general what we see is


the continued trend of shift- ing costs to the county and local level,” she said. “If things stay as they are, we’ll see what we saw last year; counties will raise taxes.” The largest cut in the human services budget


came with the elimination of the General Assistance Fund.Ward said this is par- ticularly problematic be- cause of the diverse nature


of those this fund helped. “This has a lot of implica-


tions,” she said. “Part of the fund provided a cash bene- fit for disabled people to


tide them over until federal disability payments kick in. Another portion goes to


SEE BUDGET A4 College acceptance more competitive


by Rebecca Nuttall Courier Staff Writer


Last week, the Supreme Court an-


nounced they would hear an affirmative action case involving aWhite woman who claims she was denied entry to the Univer- sity of Texas because less qualified minor- ity applicants were given preference. In light of this news and an overall drop in college admissions rates in 2011, entry to college is becoming more competitive than ever. At this year’s National College Fair, high school students from Pittsburgh and sur-


George Curry says


Obama doesn’t get credit for GM turnaround Forum A9


rounding regions competed for the affec- tions of more than 300 colleges, universi- ties and trade schools.While they pitched themselves to the prospective institutions at the Convention Center on Feb. 9, admis- sions counselors provided the students with the keys to ensure they are accepted. “I tell students to have an open mind.


Start looking for careers that interest them,” said Brett Haselrig, director of ad- mission at Saint FrancisUniversity. “We’re looking for students who are prepared aca- demically, but we also are looking for


SEE ACCEPTANCE A5


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24